On Second Thought, a voyage to the bottom of the sea fanfic

On Second Thought

By Chris B.

The submarine SSRN Seaview rushed silently through the murky depths of the Pacific Ocean as her designer and founder of the Nelson Institute of Marine Research, Admiral Harriman Nelson evaluated the new steam generation system he had developed to increase the great submarine's speed. He and his partner in the endeavor, Dr. Miles Anderson, had created a new boiler system that allowed for the generation of super-heated steam under increased pressure to provide greater energy to the turbines permitting the huge submarine to travel at previously unheard of speeds.

This cruise was a shakedown and evaluation of the new system to determine how effective the new steam generation system was. They had been out at sea for nearly two weeks and thus far the tests had been very encouraging showing an overall efficiency in power generation of nearly 35%. The two scientists and inventors were thrilled with the results as was Seaview's captain, Lee Crane. The new design would give his vessel an added edge in battle scenarios or response time in the event of an emergency.

The tests to date had occurred at lower speeds ranging from dead slow to flank. The next segment would begin pushing the envelope to see just how fast Seaview could fly beneath the waves. The admiral had called a meeting of the command crew and key engineering personnel to go over the objectives and protocols for the next round.

"Alright gentlemen," Nelson began, "everything so far has been green across the board and the new generation system looks to be operating exactly as designed. It's time for us to start pushing the limits of the new system and determine just how much more speed we can get out of our gray lady. Miles, would you present our next set objectives for this round of tests?"

"Gladly Harriman. Gentlemen our next step is to take Seaview into emergency flank to evaluate what the new system will deliver. We envision doing a series of sprints, so to speak, to gradually increase the amount of power and speed the new system will deliver and its effects on Seaview's engines and structure. We will move up to flank then increase to emergency flank and incrementally increase our speed over those tests to determine how fast we can safely push this sub through the water. Any questions?"

"I've got a couple Dr. Anderson." Lee replied. "At what increments do you intend to increase our speed? Also you will allow us time to evaluate our navigation systems like sonar to determine their ability to operate effectively at these increased speeds and recalibrate as needed, yes?"

"That's a given, Lee. We learned that lesson from Gantt's experiments with his new fuel. We won't allow our speed to outrun our capability to 'see' what's in front of us. As you are also well aware we're operating in an area of the ocean that is deep with no navigation hazards above 2,500' and we have no intention of going deeper than 1,000'. I see us moving in increments of five and ten percent above our top rated speed. After each trial, we'll take a look at the readouts and look for any anomalies in Seaview's operation." Nelson answered.

"That's what I need to make me happy. Also sir I will be empowering everyone on this vessel with the authority to terminate a test run if they detect even the slightest problem with any of the vessel's systems." Crane stated.

Nelson and Anderson stared at Lee as did the rest of the men in the meeting. "Is there a problem with that sir?" Lee asked.

"Seems rather extreme don't you think Lee?" Nelson replied.

"Admiral, Doctor, I have the utmost confidence in this crew to use that power judiciously. The types of tests we will be doing are very risky and I think this is the best way to approach it from the safety aspect. Also, the request for termination will be going through me and we can make the call at that time." Lee answered.

"Very well Captain, she's your boat. That's all gentlemen unless there are any other questions." Nelson responded. Everyone in the room gave a negative shake of their head indicating no more issues. "Alright then, report to your stations and we will begin our first run at emergency flank."

Everyone moved out of the nose and to their stations while the admiral and Anderson went over their test protocols and prepared for the next round of tests. Lee and Chip Morton, his executive officer and best friend/brother moved into the control room to ready the crew.

"Got a weird feeling about this Lee?" Chip inquired quietly so as not to be overheard by the control room crew.

"No not at all, Chip. I just don't want any rude surprises when we hit warp speed," Lee replied with a wink and a small chuckle. "I just think that given the sharp edge we will be running down I just want everyone very attuned to what Seaview is doing. If the admiral is correct in his calculations, we could potentially hit speeds in excess of 90 knots. I want to know if Seaview so much as wiggles a rivet at those speeds."

"Damn. Do you really think he'll get that kind of speed out of her?"

"It's possible. Theoretically Seaview can take the stress but I doubt we get that extreme this mission. But then again you know the admiral and Dr. Anderson is really pushing to test the limits on this system. Thus far everything has looked great and if it stays that way, we may just set some new records." Lee replied.

Lee smiled and sighed. "Alright Mr. Morton get us ready to run."

"Aye, sir." Chip replied with a quick salute.

ooOoo

Chip moved quickly to each station and verified that the operators and their equipment were ready for the tests that would be placed upon them. Each man indicated that his station was at 100% and ready to proceed. He contacted each of the department heads and got similar confirmations that everyone was ready to take Seaview to a new level of performance.

"All stations indicate green, Captain. We are ready to proceed whenever you give us the word," Chip reported.

"Thank you Mr. Morton," Lee replied with a smile. Lee picked up the mic and clicked it twice. " Admiral Nelson, this is Crane. Admiral we are ready to proceed at your leisure, just give the word."

"Nelson here. Thank you for the update Captain, you may proceed when ready."

"Aye sir," Lee replied. He clicked the mic again and made his announcement to the entire boat. "All hands, we are proceeding with the next round of tests of the new power generation system. We will be pushing Seaview faster than she has ever gone before and pushing our systems beyond what they were initially designed for. That being said I want all hands to know that if you encounter problems anywhere on the boat during these test runs you have the authority to contact me directly and request we terminate the run. If something doesn't seem right don't keep it to yourself." Lee looked across the control room and received nods of understanding from the crew.

"Engineering, take us up to flank and prepare for the next step forward."

"Engineering, aye sir flank speed and awaiting your order," replied the chief engineering officer or Cheng as he was affectionately called.

They all could feel the thrum and shudder in the deck plates as Seaview began her surge to flank speed. Lee loved the feel of his boat running full out like a thoroughbred horse. The smooth operations of her systems and crew sent a satisfied grin across the captain's face.

"Con this in engineering, we are at flank."

"Thank you Cheng," replied Crane. "Nelson this is Crane we are at flank and ready to proceed with test one."

"Very well Lee, take us to emergency flank."

"Emergency flank, Mr. Morton." Lee ordered.

"Emergency flank, aye." Chip replied and the order passed through the boat.

The response was immediate as though Seaview had been spurred and the jump in momentum and increase in vibration was readily apparent. She pushed forward through the dark and frigid waters at 55 knots.

"Emergency flank, Captain." Chip confirmed.

Lee let Seaview run a good 10 minutes at emergency flank to ensure that all systems were operating at 100% efficiency. He looked over at Chip and silently asked for a system update.

"Everything at optimum, Skipper," Chip replied.

"Thank you, XO. Increase speed by 10%." Lee answered with a smile. He was a speed junkie and there was almost an unbridled joy at taking his gray lady faster than she'd ever been.

"Aye, sir. Engineering increase speed by 10%." Chip said relaying the order through the boat.

"Increasing by 10%," echoed the Cheng.

Again the Seaview surged forward as though snapped with a riding crop as she pushed ahead. The crew focused diligently on their stations ensuring that there were no obstacles in their way. Lee's smile increased as he felt his vessel begin to run flat out.

"We are at 60 knots sir."

"Keep this speed and heading for 15 minutes Mr. Morton."

"Aye, sir."

"Admiral, we are at 110% of rated speed sir. Everything is green across the board." Lee reported after the 15 minutes elapsed.

"Excellent Captain, take her forward another 5%." Nelson replied.

"Aye sir, increasing speed by five percent." Lee confirmed. He double clicked the mic and forwarded the order to engineering.

As the additional power was pushed through to the engines, Lee felt a slight hesitation in Seaview's response to the power surge. It only lasted a couple seconds but he was sure he felt it none the less.

"Did you feel that Chip?" Lee asked.

"Feel what?"

"There was a momentary hesitation or hiccup after the additional power cut in." Lee explained.

"No, I didn't notice. Do we continue or do you want to end the test?" Chip inquired.

"Keep her on track for the time being. Check with the control room crew and engineering to see if they detected anything." Lee ordered.

"Aye sir." Chip replied. He moved quickly to each station inquiring if anyone had detected anything during the last power increase. No one indicated they had felt anything and engineering responded negatively as well.

"Skipper, no one felt anything with the last increase and report all green. We could have just hit a small eddy." Chip offered.

"No it wasn't that; there was a definite hesitation in response." Lee answered. Lee was keenly attuned to the Seaview more so than even her creator. He felt the boat almost as if it were an extension of his body; he was somehow connected to her beyond standing on her deck. He knew her moods, her every shimmy and shake as she moved through the water and what he felt was not normal.

"Control room this is Nelson,"

"Go ahead sir, this is Crane."

"Bump it up another 5 percent Lee." Nelson ordered.

"Sir did you detect any hesitation in response to the last increase?" Lee inquired.

"No, there was no indication of that down here," Nelson replied. "All our readouts indicate things are operating at optimum efficiency. Has someone reported differently?"

"I felt a definite pause following the report of adding power and the resulting surge. It's probably nothing, just settling into the new demands." Lee answered.

"Well catalog it Captain and we'll look at the tapes once the run is over." Nelson replied.

"Aye sir," Lee responded. He turned to Chip and gave him a shrug and a small smile. "Increase power by 5% Mr. Morton."

"Aye sir, Engineering increase speed by 5%." Chip replied and ordered the next step in the test.

"Five percent more, aye," responded the Cheng.

There was no denying it this time as far as Lee was concerned. As the additional power was pulsed to the engines Lee felt a definite hesitation in operations of the engines. Instead of a smooth surge forward there was a slight hiccup in the even flow of power and the resultant increase in speed.

Lee looked at Chip. "There you couldn't have missed it that time, that little hesitation in speed once the additional power was added."

Chip looked at Lee and shook his head negatively. "I didn't feel anything different, Lee."

"I know I felt it that time Chip," Lee said with a frustrated sigh. 'How could he not feel that?' Lee wondered to himself. "Maintain course and speed Mr. Morton, 20 minute."

"Aye sir. We are at 66 knots." Chip responded.

Ten minutes into the run Lee felt the hesitation again. To him it felt as though there was a pressure loss within the steam plant, as though the pressure vessel had somehow stretched or torn internally and the power output dropped for that quick millisecond until the pressure built back up. At these speeds there was no way Lee was taking a chance on that.

"Mr. Morton, terminate the run. Bring us down to dead slow." Lee ordered.

Chip stared at Lee momentarily startled by the order. After a split second he grabbed the mic. "Engineering we are terminating the test, bring us to dead slow." Morton ordered.

Two responses were immediate, Seaview quickly began decelerating and Admiral Nelson was on the intercom demanding a reason for the termination of the test.

"Control room, why have you terminated the test?" Nelson demanded.

"Admiral, this is Crane. I chose to terminate the test because I've detected multiple hesitations in the power flow during our runs. I feel it is to our benefit to take a look at the readouts and make sure of the system integrity before we proceed with any increases in power and speed."

There was a long and uneasy pause at the other end of the mike as Nelson digested what the captain had said. "I'm on my way up." His tone was terse and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was unhappy with the recent turn of events.

ooOoo

Nelson strode purposefully into the control room followed closely by Dr. Anderson. He made immediate eye contact with his captain. "Follow me Captain." Nelson said coolly.

"Aye sir. Chip you have the con." Lee replied evenly.

"Aye sir, I have the con," answered Chip.

Lee followed the admiral into the nose and at Nelson's indication pressed the button shutting the crash doors to give them the privacy they needed to discuss the issue at hand. Once the door was shut, Lee moved over to the sideboard and poured himself and the other two men a cup of coffee.

"So what is it you thought you felt, Captain?" Nelson asked in a clipped tone.

"Admiral after we passed emergency flank, I felt a definite pause or hesitation in the power flow following each increase beyond 110%. I guess I would categorize it as though something in the boiler had stretched or tore as additional stress was placed on the vessel. This all should have been seamless with no change in force."

"Lee we pulled the tapes for the jumps beyond emergency flank and there is no indication of any of the skips in power that you're describing." Nelson replied.

"Sir I know what I felt and when we are dealing with the kind of pressures your system is producing in the steam generation unit, I think it would be wise to back off and reevaluate the tank. As a whole the new system is incredibly effective and efficient, but I have the feeling that there is a problem within the boiler." Lee answered.

"A feeling?! Really Captain and you want us to terminate this entire test series based on one of your feelings," Anderson stated incredulously.

"Nonsense Lee, I checked out all the components and had the boiler and the high stress units x-rayed following each weld to ensure everything was sound."

"Admiral it's my professional opinion that there is a potential problem with the boiler and it would be wise to err on the side of caution and head back to shore and have the vessel checked. You've got to believe me sir that I want this system to succeed every bit as much as you do but as captain of this boat, I feel it is in our best interests to back off." Lee implored.

"You're concern is noted, Lee, however your feelings are not borne out in any of the readings we've collected on the last run. I'm going to proceed with another run this afternoon. We will go over all the data collected with a fine toothed comb to assuage your concerns but unless there is something tangible in the information we've gathered I see no reason not to go forward," Harri replied.

Lee sighed and ran a hand through his hair; a sure sign his was not happy with the admiral's decision. "Yes sir. Do you mind if I review the data as well sir?" Lee inquired.

"You're more than welcome to do so Lee, the more eyes we have on it the better. I'm not discounting your read on Seaview's performance but there's nothing that indicates it occurred. Come on lad, let's head down to my lab and we'll start pouring over the data." Nelson said laying a hand on Lee's shoulder.

"Yes sir. I'll be down as soon as I get Chip started on preparations for this afternoon's test run."

Harri moved to the crash doors and hit the button. "Thank you Lee, I'll see you in a few minutes."

As the admiral and Anderson moved through the control room towards the aft hatch, Lee walked over to his Exec. "Chip start preparations for another test run this afternoon. Make especially sure that all the monitoring equipment is fully operational."

"I'll take care of it Lee. I take it the admiral didn't feel there was a problem with the first test run?" Chip asked.

"No he didn't and he said they had reviewed all the test data and found no indication of a hesitation in the power flow during any of the runs beyond 110%. I'm going down to his lab to review the tapes with him and Dr. Anderson to see if I can spot where the break occurred. If you need me, that's where I'll be."

"Alright Lee, if there's anything else special you want done for the next speed runs just let me know and I'll make sure it gets done," Chip replied.

"Thanks Chip," Lee said as he patted his friend on the shoulder and headed aft towards the admiral's lab.

Lee spent the next five hours reviewing every bit of data generated from the speed run they had just completed. The admiral and Dr. Anderson were right in saying that there was no indication of the hesitation that Lee felt in the tapes. He eventually had to concede that there was no evidence of a problem and agree to go forward with another run. Logically and empirically he had nothing on which to base his concerns on pursuing another test, yet he knew what he felt and was not at all comfortable with continuing to stress the system. He had to console himself with just being more vigilant on the next series of tests.

ooOoo

By 1500 all preparations had been made for the next set of speed trials. Chip had had the technicians verify that all monitoring equipment was fully operational and had the control room crew recalibrate their systems given the data garnered earlier in the day to ensure they could detect anything in front of them before it became a problem. Seaview floated motionlessly at 1000' primed and ready to take on the next challenge.

Knowing the Skipper had ended the tests early that morning the crew was even more vigilant in watching their stations. They had heard through the grapevine that everything had shown Seaview was operating at her best but they still had a healthy respect for their captain's feelings regarding her status. On more than one occasion his sixth sense about his boat had saved them all from injury or death. It was somewhat of a joke amongst the crew that Captain Crane had actually melded with the boat but they all for the most part did believe he actually 'felt' her and were more inclined to trust his feeling than any mechanical readout refuting his perception.

Lee entered the control room at 1520 and did a complete circuit of the room touching base with each man there getting an updated status of their station. Finishing his loop he headed up towards the nose to grab a cup of coffee and get a final systems update from Chip.

"Hi Chip, how are things looking?" Lee inquired as he sipped on his coffee.

"Hi Lee. Everything is in prime condition and we're ready to take on the next speed run. I've had everyone go over their systems with a fine toothed comb and recalibrate where necessary given the data we got this morning on our first run." Chip replied.

"Great. I definitely hope the first run was just an anomaly or bad pancakes," Lee said with a grin.

"Me too," laughed Chip. "Your gut feelings sometimes bother the hell out of me."

Lee reached across the chart table and snagged the clipboard with the operations plan for the next round of tests. He quickly skimmed over the objectives and running times for each incremental increase in speed. Once he had refreshed himself on the plan he handed the clipboard back to Chip and grabbed the mic. "Admiral, this is Crane. We are ready to begin round two of the speed tests at your convenience."

"Very well, Lee, proceed when you are ready. Start out just as we did this morning, bring us to flank speed and then give me a call when you are set for the next jump." Nelson replied from his lab.

"Aye sir. Mr. Morton bring us to course one eight zero, flank speed." Lee answered.

"Aye Captain," Chip acknowledged and gave the orders to start the next test.

Seaview gained speed gracefully as she moved to flank, the thrum of her powerful engines pulsing through her structure. Lee smiled as he felt her hit flank, detecting no hesitation in her operation as the power was applied to her engines. "Admiral we are at flank speed," he announced over the intercom.

"Excellent Lee, take us to 115% and hold for 20 minutes." Nelson replied.

"Aye sir. You heard the order Mr. Morton 115% if you please."

Chip quickly gave the order and Seaview began her surge forward smoothly, at first. Ten minutes into the run Lee once again felt a slight hitch in the power; it wasn't more than a second or two but still he felt it. He looked quickly over at Chip to see if he had detected it too, but it was quite obvious he was the only one detecting the hesitation. The remainder of the first run went on without incident.

As the time expired, Lee picked up the mic and called the admiral. "Nelson, this is Crane. Sir that completes phase one, do you wish to proceed?"

"Nelson here. Everything is showing green across the board Lee; take us to 120% for 20 minutes."

Lee confirmed the instructions and Chip gave the orders to increase power and speed another 5% over emergency flank. He felt the surge of the additional power into the engines and Seaview leapt ahead once again reaching 66 knots. He strode purposefully around the control room taking in the various stations making sure everyone was totally focused on keeping Seaview safe. As he walked towards the nose he almost tripped as he felt the lurch in her progress and quickly looked up catching Chip's eye. "Tell me you didn't feel that."

Chip just shook his head. "No Lee I'm missing whatever you're picking up."

"Chip, terminate the run now." Lee ordered.

"Aye Skipper. Engineering bring us back to dead slow." Morton ordered as he began to steel himself for the impending rampage from the admiral.

Seaview glided calmly and silently through the water slowing incrementally as the power was pulled back. Harriman Nelson stormed towards the control room ready to take her captain to task for aborting yet another run. As he marched past Lee, Lee followed dutifully closing the crash doors as he entered the nose.

"Dammit Lee, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Nelson thundered. "There have been no indications of anomalies, breaks in power flow to the engines or even a sweat on the boiler. What the hell do you have against these tests?!"

"Admiral…Harri I can't explain how I feel these hesitations or hiccups in the power supply to our engines but as sure as I know my name is Lee Crane I know they are occurring and if we keep pushing this system we are going to have a major problem. You already indicated that we were only going to conduct one more test before heading back to port, why can't we cut and run now?" Lee implored.

"There is nothing, I repeat nothing indicating there is a problem. Couldn't it be that because we are moving faster than we ever have before that you're sensing the change in water flow over the hull or some other effect on the boat? I see no reason not to proceed with the final test, and then we will return to port." Nelson answered.

"Sir I think we are butting against a serious safety issue here and I'm not willing to put this vessel and her crew at risk when we could easily come back out and complete the tests once we've inspected the boiler in the system. Maybe there's a problem with one of the sensors tracking operations on the boiler that it isn't correctly reading all the data and these hesitations I'm feeling are being ignored. There is something not right about all of this and I am adamantly opposed to continuing with these tests." Lee fired back.

The volume and intensity of the discussion was growing and their voices were beginning to penetrate the crash doors. The control room crew focused intently on their stations occasionally shooting each other a concerned look as the skipper's time behind closed doors increased.

"We are going to complete the last test tomorrow morning, Captain. Is that understood?" Nelson finally ordered. "If you are so opposed to seeing this through I'm sure Mr. Morton would be more than able to carry out this round of tests."

Lee stepped back as though he's been slapped. His eyes narrowed and fixed firmly on the admiral's face. "That won't be necessary…sir," Lee answered, his voice controlled and icy. "I will see to it that your final test run is initiated, however I want it on record that I believe there is a problem with the system and this test should be put off until my concerns have been adequately addressed. I don't make these assertions lightly Admiral; I know the costs and benefits of these trials. My concern is purely for the safety of this vessel and all of those aboard her."

"Your concerns are so noted, Captain. See to it that we are ready to resume our tests at 0800. That is all." Nelson replied coldly. Even as Harri gave his order he felt a cold presence move through him and a sense of dread begin to settle in his bones. In all his years at sea he had never met anyone so attuned to the operations of the boat he commanded as Lee Crane. The man had an uncanny ability to detect even the slightest change in Seaview's status which in many cases had proven to be correct. He sat there wondering why he was suddenly so willing to dismiss Lee's feeling regarding these tests.

Lee spun on his heel and moved to open the crash doors. As they parted he entered the control room. "Mr. Morton, see to it that we are able to resume testing the system at 0800 tomorrow morning. If you need me I will be in my cabin."

Taking a moment to compose himself, Harri moved into the control room and headed towards the aft hatch. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Lee's crew put great stock in their captain's feelings especially regarding his boat and their loyalty to the man was beyond compare. This wasn't the first time that the admiral and captain had butted heads but something felt different, almost foreboding. Harri continued through the control room and back down to his lab to review the data and prepare for the final run.

ooOoo

Harri moved tiredly down the passageway towards his quarters. He had spent the better part of the evening trying to convince his captain that there were no problems with the new steam generation unit yet despite all the evidence backing his position, Lee still held to his belief that something was amiss. One of the things he valued most about Lee Crane was his ability to almost merge with Seaview and be acutely aware of potential problems before they cropped up. He could do things with this vessel that no one else could ever aspire to, he was that talented. Hell it was one of the reasons he had hired Lee after John Phillips was killed.

He entered his room and sat heavily behind the desk sighing in deep relief as he slowly relaxed. He pulled open the lower left drawer and withdrew his bottle of scotch and glass and poured himself two fingers. Sipping slowly on the amber liquid he found himself wondering why he was having such a difficult time believing Lee's assertion that there was a problem with the new boiler.

As he sat there feeling the effects of the drink slowly work its magic on him and his eyes began to slide shut he felt a cold wave break over him out of nowhere. Why was it you wanted Crane in the first place? Why did you call in so many favors and burn so many bridges to keep him if you won't even give his concerns due consideration? Why won't you listen?

His eyes snapped open and he looked quickly around the room for what he didn't know. Did someone speak aloud or was his sixth sense trying to tell him something? After a few moments trying to decide where the source of that thought came from he finally figured it was just a vestige of some dream. He sat back in his chair and took another sip of his drink. He was beat and as his sat there his eyes once again slid shut and he drifted off to sleep.

ooOoo

Lee sat quietly at his desk pouring over every page of the data generated during the previous runs, once again trying to find evidence of the glitch he was feeling. The admiral had come in after he failed to appear for dinner to go over Lee's concerns and to convince him that his apprehension about going forward with the next test was unfounded. Despite the tense words exchanged in the nose earlier in the day, there was no rancor between the two as each was doing his job; it was never personal. They had talked until midnight with neither willing to cede their position. The admiral finally departed admonishing the captain to get some sleep in preparation for the trial in the morning.

As it neared 0300 Lee finally conceded there was nothing he could point to, to support his assertion and sighed in defeat. He knew something wasn't right. Why wouldn't Harri even consider backing off?

Lee tiredly pushed up from his desk and made his way to the head to splash a little water on his face and get ready for bed. He stripped off his uniform and crawled under the covers of his bunk, but sleep was not something that was going to come, not tonight. He knew something was wrong, regardless of what the data showed and he feared for both his vessel and his crew.

Around 0530 he finally gave up any hope of grabbing some meaningful sleep and got up for the day. He quickly showered and dressed then headed out of his cabin to conduct a thorough walk-a-boat to make sure everything was in good shape before the final run. He took extra time to stop and chat with his crew and make sure they were ready for the tests and ready to respond should something not go as planned.

As he entered the control room at 0730 he spotted Chip checking with the crew on final details before the tests began. He nodded his head indicating Chip should follow him into the nose so they could chat privately.

"Everything's ready to go for the last test run, Lee." Chip said as he approached the nose.

"Thanks Chip. Listen, I want you to run this round of tests. I'm going to go down to the engine room and observe from there. I just have this weird feeling that something is not right and I want to be close to the source so I can bring this all to a halt if things start going wrong." Lee replied.

"Are you sure about this? The admiral's going to be pissed when he finds out."

"He couldn't be any more upset with me than he already is. I don't know Chip; I just have this sinking feeling that this could all turn ugly in a heartbeat. You take care of things here and I'll monitor things in the engine room and hopefully this can all be chalked up to my overprotective imagination." Lee answered.

"Whatever you want Lee, you're the captain." Chip replied with a small smile.

"Thanks Chip. I know I can always count on you." Lee said as he placed his hand on Chip's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Well, shall we?"

ooOoo

Harri awoke with a start finding himself still seated at his desk, his arms and head resting on the desk top. He looked quickly at the clock and realized he had seriously overslept; it was nearly 0700 and he had much to do before the next test run.

He stiffly pushed up out of the chair and slowly stretched working the kinks out of his body after sleeping in that awkward position. He hit the shower and let the hot water ease the aches and pains and bring him fully alert. He hurriedly shaved and dressed then bolted out of his cabin and down to his lab to double check everything in advance of the next run.

"Morning, Harri," Miles said as Harri entered the lab. "Running a bit late today?"

"Morning Miles. Yes, I seriously overslept this morning. I was with Lee up until midnight trying to convince him everything is as it should be. He's still adamant, regardless of the data, that something is not right somewhere in the steam generation system. He's usually not this unreasonable if I can demonstrate that there is no cause for concern." Nelson replied.

"Well we've done all we can to show him that, all the data backs our position that the system is operating as designed. You sailor types are such a superstitious lot, it's tough to overcome that sometimes," Miles replied with a smile. "The good thing is that as the owner of the boat you can override his decision to end the tests and take us to the next level of submarine excellence."

Harri stared at Miles for a moment digesting his words. He hated being at odds with Lee and taking a unilateral action to counter his orders; in the end it always seemed as though Lee's hunches were proven out. Why was he so willing to disregard his concerns now?

"Yes, well it's not something I do lightly," Harri finally responded. "Things tend to end badly when I do."

"Come on Harri, there's nothing wrong with the system or Seaview. He's probably just picking up on the differences in the vessel's ride at such high speeds. When this next test is over he'll be feeling pretty silly as we set new speed records for subsurface travel." Miles chided.

"You're probably right," Harri conceded. "Well shall we make sure we're ready to set those records?"

"Let's do it. I've got most of the monitoring systems checked there are just a couple of more we need to verify and we can go make history," Miles replied with a smile.

ooOoo

At precisely 0800 Lee picked up the mic. "Admiral this is Crane. We are ready to proceed when you are."

"Nelson here. Begin the test Captain."

"Aye sir. Mr. Morton if you please." Lee replied.

"Aye Captain." Chip replied and started issuing orders to bring Seaview up to flank speed to begin the tests.

"Alright Chip; I'm heading down to engineering. If you detect the slightest hiccup or bump terminate the test I'll be down in the engine room watching things from there and will do likewise if there's anything I don't like." Lee stated.

"Okay Lee. I'll keep a close tab on things up here."

Lee smiled then turned and exited the aft hatch making his way to the engine room. As he entered the Cheng shot him a surprised look; it was very unusual to have the skipper anywhere but the control room for experimental tests.

"Hi Skipper. Is there a problem sir?"

"No, I just wanted to observe the test from here today. I've felt some things during the boosts in power in the previous tests and I just want to see if it's me or if there is something else at play here. I think it's best to be at the source of things to make that determination," Lee replied with a slight smile.

The Cheng smiled and nodded his head; he was well acquainted with his skipper's feelings and had learned early on it was a wise practice to give them full credence when they related to anything with the operation of Seaview. "From where we stand, everything is good to go, sir."

"Thanks Cheng. I may just be getting crotchety in my old age but there's something about this that just doesn't set right."

"Engine room, take us to 115%." Commander Morton ordered over the intercom.

"Engine room, aye 115%," replied the Cheng.

As the power was applied Seaview surged ahead, her engines thrumming evenly with the increased power. They proceeded ahead in excess of 63 knots for the prescribed run of 20 minutes without the slightest hint of hesitation in the system. Lee smiled and just shrugged as the test period ended.

"Admiral, this is Morton. Test run complete ready to move to the next stage."

"This is Nelson. Very well Mr. Morton, take us to 125%."

"Aye sir 125%. Engine room this is Morton take us to 125% for 20 minutes."

"Engine room, aye one two five percent." Cheng replied. He looked at the captain for concurrence and receiving a nod increased power to the engines.

The initial surge of speed was smooth and seamless as Seaview blew through the water. Five minutes into the run Lee felt the hesitation again; a momentary hesitation as though the pressure in the boiler had slightly dropped. He looked up at the Cheng but saw no confirmation in his eyes that he had felt it.

They continued on but at 10 minutes into the run there was most definitely a discernable drop in speed with a sudden resurgence to the previous level. The change was enough for them all to shift at the hesitation. Lee looked at the Cheng, his eyes wide with concern. Lee drew his hand across his throat telling the Cheng to cut power.

As the Cheng moved to carry out the order there was a sudden shudder that shook the boat nearly throwing them all to the floor. Along with the shudder was the horrific high pitched scream of distorting metal as it was being forced into a new shape. They both looked up and were aghast to see the outer skin of the boiler deform and push outwards as though a huge fist was pounding away inside desperately trying to batter its way out.

"Kill the power Cheng, everyone get the hell out!" screamed Lee trying to talk over the noise.

Cheng hit the kill switch and all hands had started towards the hatch when the boiler finally gave out. The sound was deafening as the walls of the boiler failed releasing a concussive wave of superheated steam and shrapnel that blanketed the entire room. Those not lucky enough to have made it through the door were mowed down like so much grass. Seaview shuddered and rolled violently in response throwing everyone to the floor.

Alarms went off all over the boat as Seaview lurched towards the sea floor, no longer able to maintain buoyancy and trim. The crew tried desperately to regain their feet and halt her precipitous descent while simultaneously dousing fires and sealing blown pipes to contain the inrush of water where leaks had occurred.

"Sickbay emergency, report to the engine room immediately!" came a panicked scream over the intercom. "Oh god, no. Please no," continued the voice until the mic clicked off.

ooOoo

Struggling hard to regain his feet, Chip jumped immediately into action following the explosion focusing the crew on taking control of the situation and salvaging the boat. He quickly ordered damage control crews into action and worked diligently to aid the control room crew in putting out the fires and returning systems to operational status. DC reports flooded into the con and the scenario did not sound good. There were multiple leaks throughout the boat, most of the electrical systems were down, ballast control was down, ventilation was down, and outside communications was likewise out of commission.

Once the initial shock had worn off, everyone turned to and began evaluating and initiating repairs to the boat. Luckily for them the skipper had ordered the test run to be carried out in a shallower region of the test area and Seaview had settled heavily on the bottom well above her crush depth. He had also ordered all watertight doors secured prior to the start of the run which proved to be the only reason they survived the initial explosion. Seaview groaned loudly as the water outside fought to gain entrance and the stress of the high speed on her frame abated. She was dead in the water but still kept her crew alive.

They all worked frantically to return Seaview to some semblance of operational order. The real concern was stemming the leaks and returning ballast control so they could blow tanks and return to the surface and rescue.

Chip was working diligently trying to regain control of the boat and had all but forgotten that Lee had been in the engine room. His attention was drawn to the intercom by a personal hail.

"Jamieson to Morton"

"Morton here, what is it Jamie, we're kind of busy here." Chip replied.

"Chip pick up on the telephone, please." Jamie requested.

"Hold one Jamie." Chip moved over to the radio shack and grabbed the telephone receiver. "What is it Jamie?"

"Chip I need you here in the engine room immediately." Jamie replied.

"Can it wait 20 minutes?" Chip inquired.

"I don't think Lee has more than five minutes left Chip. If you want to see him before he dies I need you down here now," Jamie answered grimly.

Chip went immediately white and his knees nearly buckled. "On my way." Chip quickly scanned the control room and finally spotted Lt. O'Brien. "Bobby, you have the con. I'll be in the engine room if you need me."

"Aye sir," replied Bobby. A wave of dread cascaded over him as he took in the Exec's ashen appearance and the slight tremble in his voice. Wasn't the Skipper in the engine room?

Chip bolted out of the control room and flew down the corridors and ladders until he reached the hatch leading to the engine room. Dreading what he was going to see he eased his way into the room. There was carnage everywhere. The blown tank had ripped huge gashes in the bulkheads and control panels all across the space, the smell of burned flesh and circuits permeated the entire room. As he scanned the space he saw white sheets stained with blood draped over still forms on the deck. At last he spotted Jamie kneeling next to a body on the floor.

Caught in the engine room when the boiler blew Lee had been severely scalded by the escaping steam and nearly torn apart by the flying shrapnel. He lay on the floor gasping in short breaths, his eyes wide open not really focused on anything staring up at the ceiling. Jamie had applied tourniquets to injuries on both legs and left arm, along with pressure bandages to the other gaping wounds in his torso. He remained at Lee's side tightly grasping his right hand talking softly to his injured CO.

As Chip approached Jamie looked up at him, tears welled up in his eyes as he fought to control his emotions. He shook his head negatively indicating there was no way Lee would escape this one. Chip sank to his knees and took Lee's hand from Jamie. He lost his battle to hold back the tears and they streamed freely down his cheeks.

"Lee," Chip said softly. "Lee it's me Chip, can you hear me? Come on buddy let me know your still there." There was no response and Chip looked at Jamie. "Have you contacted the admiral?"

"Intercom is down to the labs. I sent a corpsman to try and find him and bring him back if he's able." Jamie replied quietly.

Chip looked down at his best friend and brother, lost in a world of misery and despair as he faced the reality of finally losing Lee. As his tears splashed on Lee's forehead he felt Lee return his grip as he fought his way back. "Hey bro, I'm here. You just take it easy, okay."

"Ch…ip,… tha..t you?" Lee barely breathed out.

"Yeah bro it's me."

"How's …Seaview….crew?" he asked then arched his back as pain thundered through his being.

"Don't worry about that, we're taking care of things. You just need to relax." Chip answered his voice cracking with emotion.

"You…gotta…take care…of ….of ….my lady Chip. Take… care of the ….crew and the ….admiral, kay." Lee ground out.

"That's a given Lee, only until you're back at the helm." Chip replied.

"You… know…. it really sucks ….being right….all…the…time." Lee said with a choked chuckle, blood bubbling over his lips as he coughed. Chip and Jamie rolled their eyes and gave a low laugh at the gallows humor. "Love you bro. Thanks…for..evry thng Jamie. Tell Haa..rri good bye." With that Lee took a last gasp his eyes lost all focus and he lost the last battle he would ever fight.

"Lee! Lee!" Chip screamed squeezing Lee's hand tighter as though he could somehow keep him from moving on. Chip sobbed openly for a moment, carefully laying his head against Lee's then gently laid Lee's hand down on his chest. Tears streamed freely down Jamie's face as the enormity of the loss hit him full force.

After a moment Chip pushed up to his feet, wiped the tears off his cheeks. Grieving for his captain and brother was not a luxury he could indulge in at the moment as he was now in command and had made a promise to Lee to take care of his gray lady and crew. After a moment he schooled his features, donned his exec mask and exited the room to resume his duties to Lee and his boat. Seconds after he left the admiral, alerted to his captain's grave condition, came barreling down the corridor and rushed into the engine room just in time to see Jamie draw the sheet over Lee's face.

ooOoo

Harri locked eyes with Jamie, willing him to say that this was some sort of sick joke, an 'I told you so' dreamed up by Lee to push home his point about the boiler being unsafe. The sad brown eyes that met his gaze shattered that hope in an instant. Harri collapsed to his knees and slowly peeled back the sheet to gaze at Lee's lifeless form.

"Oh god, son, I'm so sorry," he said in a choked sob, as tears fell from his eyes onto Lee's badly burned face. "Why wouldn't I listen?" He reached under the sheet and pulled out Lee's hand and squeezed it hoping upon hope that he was actually alive. The cold and limp flesh told the tale that he desperately tried to deny; his captain, his surrogate son was gone and it was all his fault.

After a few minutes, Jamie reached down and placed his hand on the admiral's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'm so very sorry Harri. You will be proud to know that because Lee was down here watching the test, he was able to get the majority of the engine room crew out before the boiler blew. So, we only lost three instead of fifteen. He gave his all for Seaview and her crew just as he always has."

Harri looked up at Jamie the pain and despair in his eyes was palpable. It was so Lee to ensure that his crew remained safe even if it meant he took the brunt of the damage. Harri could no longer bite back the sobs and they racked his entire body as the totality of the loss hit home.

As his corpsman Frank entered the engine room, Jamie motioned him over. They both helped the admiral to his feet and escorted him to his cabin. He was in shock and all but oblivious to the outside world. Jamie gave the admiral a strong sedative and tucked him securely into his bunk then returned to his duties of tending to the rest of Seaview's injured.

News of the captain's death had spread quickly, a cloud and somber pall was cast over the boat; even Seaview seemed to cry as her frame groaned and sighed. The heart and soul of the vessel had just been ripped out leaving an open wound that tore at everyone aboard.

ooOoo

Harri tossed and turned in the private hell he had entered. As he laid there held in place by Jamie's potion he became aware that he was no longer alone, that someone was in his cabin watching him. He put all he could into forcing open his eyes. Ever so slowly he pried them open finding the room empty. Not able to dispel the feeling he was not alone he called out, "Who's there?"

Silence greeted his summons, the only response the sounds of Seaview's hull settling deeper into the mud on seafloor below. As he continued to scan the room the ominous chill he had experienced before crept forward and then fully encompassed the room. He shivered violently from the cold and watched in amazement as a white wispy mist began rising up from the deck and began to form into multiple columns. As the columns became more substantial he was able to make out forms and faces.

Phillips, Curley, Farrell, and Blake all crew members that had passed beyond this mortal coil. Harri stared in wild-eyed amazement as he slowly recognized each form staring back at him. "John? Curley? Wh…why are you here?" he asked meekly.

"Harri," Phillips began, "We only wanted to ask you a couple of questions before we welcome Lee Crane to our ranks. You went so far to bring him aboard Seaview as her permanent skipper; we want to understand how he failed you."

"Failed me? Lee Crane has never failed me." Harri replied incredulously. So shocked by the statement he readily conceded the fact that he was talking to spectral entities, ghosts, something he'd never considered even remotely possible in his world of empirical logic.

"Admiral, why did you work so hard to get Captain Crane," asked Curly. "Why would you expend such effort to try and keep someone you disregarded so easily sir?"

"What do you mean?" Harri asked, confused by the question.

"Answer the question," repeated Blake. "Why did you want Captain Crane?"

"He was the best sub commander out there." Harri responded.

"Is that all you wanted was his command prowess?" inquired Phillips. "Was that all he was to you?"

"No!" replied Nelson. "He possesses … possessed an almost surreal ability to bond with whatever boat he was on. I witnessed it first on the Nautilus when he was only a JG. He was able to become almost one with the boat, wear it as a second skin and 'feel' it, feel its moods, feel when it wasn't running at its peak, when something was off. He seemingly had a sixth sense about it especially with Seaview; that was obvious from the very first mission and he had only been aboard for a few days."

"I see," answered Farrell. "So did he lose that gift, is that why you disregarded his feelings about Seaview and these tests?"

"All the readouts and data indicated that there wasn't a problem. In this instance I felt he was wrong." Harri replied defensively.

"Has the Skipper ever been at odds with your readouts before?" Curly asked, staring intensely at the admiral.

"On any number of occasions," Harri replied. "His feelings have usually borne out a problem."

"Hmmm. So why were you so ready to dismiss his feeling, what made you turn your back on him?" Blake inquired.

"In all honesty I don't know why. I guess because the science didn't support his observations. There was nothing he could point to that supported his position," Harri finally replied with a rueful sigh.

"I understand. So there are no shades of gray within your world? No room for a hunch or feeling?" Phillips added. "This is not a case of him failing you but you failing him. We know he gave his life to protect his vessel and crew but we assumed that he had kept his feeling to himself. We understand now. You should open your mind more to the unexplainable Harri; you know this world is not black and white but a wide spectrum of grays. Don't discount those things you can't readily fit into a box, don't handcuff yourself by not taking advantage of those intangible gifts that avail themselves to you. Please keep that in mind Harri, we don't want to have to do this again."

"What do you mean 'do this again'?" Harri inquired. "John why are you here?"

"To open your mind Harri," Phillips answered evenly. "Don't condemn your next skipper to the same fate, try taking a little more on faith."

As the clock in his quarters signaled midnight, the figures before him began to waver and fade. "Our time is up now Admiral," Curley said, his appearance becoming more undefined as it dissipated into the darkness of the room. "Take care, sir."

With that the chill that hung heavily in the room vanished along with his visitors. Harri shook his head and rubbed his eyes trying desperately to clear his head. It was only a dream; it had to be there were no such things as ghosts. As he fought to drive off the unsettling feelings and images he had just experienced, Jamie's sedative claimed him once more.

ooOoo

"Morning, Harri," Miles said as Harri entered the lab. "Running a bit late today?"

"Yes, well it's not something I do lightly," Harri finally responded. "Things tend to end badly when I do."

Somehow all this seemed wrong, Harri was experiencing an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. He remembered having this conversation already but the last thing Harri remembered his boiler system had exploded killing Lee and two others and sending the Seaview plummeting to the ocean floor badly damaged from the incident. Yet Seaview was fine, there was no indication that any problems had been encountered or that the boiler had catastrophically failed. He couldn't reconcile what was occurring now with what he knew had already happened.

"Is something wrong Harri," Miles asked. "You look as though you are perplexed about something."

"I'm having the oddest sense of déjà vu Miles. I've never experienced anything like this before." Harri replied. He was having a tough time dispelling his sense of impending doom. As he pondered everything that apparently took place in his dream the intercom clicked on.

"Admiral this is Crane. We are ready to proceed when you are," the captain said, his unease with the situation clearly heard in his clipped words, at least to Harri.

Harri hesitated a moment before he answered the hail. He considered all he had seen and heard the night before. He felt as though he were Ebenezer Scrooge given another opportunity to change that one thing in his life and avoid a horrific end. "Nelson here," he replied after nearly a minute. "On second thought Captain, I think we'll end all tests of the system and head back to port. Please get us moving back to Santa Barbara."

"Aye sir," Lee replied sounding very confused and befuddled. "Sir is everything alright?"

"Yes Lee everything is fine, just head us home." Nelson replied feeling as though a ten ton weight had been removed from his shoulders.

Miles Anderson stared incredulously at Nelson. "Why the change Harri, did you find something wrong with the system? I didn't see anything in the readouts that warrant curtailing our tests."

"Put it down to a feeling Miles, something just doesn't feel right about going forward. This will only be a minor delay especially if it turns out to be nothing. I guess I have to agree with my captain, its better safe than sorry." Harri replied with a shrug. "Come on Miles, I'll buy you a cup of coffee." Harri added as he clapped his friend on the shoulder.

Miles frowned and shook his head in disbelief. It was obvious there was no arguing with Harri on this point. "Whatever you say Harri, it's your boat."

ooOoo

By the time all preparations had been made to end the tests, break down and stow the equipment and turn Seaview around it was late afternoon. Harri sat quietly at his desk sipping on a glass of the family label going over the events of the day. He was pulled from his contemplation by a knock on the door. "Come," he called.

The door opened and Lee entered the admiral's cabin. "Admiral, I just wanted to let you know that all preparations to return to base have been completed and we are steaming home as we speak."

"Thanks Lee," Nelson replied.

"Uh sir, if you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to end the tests?" Lee inquired cautiously.

Harri looked up at his captain and just smiled. "Have a seat Lee," he said as he pulled out another glass and poured him a shot. "Let's just say that I too got a feeling that we would be better off checking out the system before we pushed it any further. Lee when I hired you as captain of the Seaview it was for more than just your excellent command skills. I've always marveled at how you become so attuned to any vessel you're on and how you seem to feel when there is a problem even before there is a telltale sign that the rest of us recognize. I was reminded of that fact recently and given your adamant stance that something wasn't right I felt that I would be better served to come back another day once we've checked the new system out."

"Sir?" Lee said inquisitively as he sipped on his drink. "A reminder from whom?"

Harri chuckled at the confused look on his captain's face. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." Just as Lee was prepared to inquire further there was a knock at the door. "Come," called Harri.

The door opened and in came Miles. "Harri I just finished pulling all the monitoring equipment off the steam generation system and I discovered that the main pressure sensor on the boiler was faulty. It was consistently giving a reading in the normal range regardless of what the actual pressure was within the tank. Odds are the pressure drops Captain Crane said he felt as we increased demands on the boiler were actually occurring. If we had pressed on with the tests today, the boiler could have easily ruptured with catastrophic results."

Both Harri and Lee looked startled at the information and paled just a bit knowing full well what those results could have been. "Thanks for letting me know Miles. It's good to know that Lee has not lost his knack," Harri said with an uneasy chuckle.

"That's a good thing for all of us," Miles replied. "Captain, I apologize for anything I may have said disparaging your feelings. Harri has said all along that you are incredibly attuned to your boat and now I see that is very much the case. I can honestly say that I'm relieved that Harri decided to cancel the tests until we can verify what you told us."

"Thank you, Doctor. I'm just happy it all worked out. As I told the admiral I am very much interested in seeing this project succeed, it would only enhance the incredible capabilities of Seaview and I will gladly head back out once everything is checked out." Lee replied with a smile.

"Well gentlemen I just wanted to share that bit of information with you. I've still got a lot of packing to do before we reach port. I'll see you at dinner." Anderson said as he excused himself from the admiral's cabin.

As Anderson left Lee looked back at Harri, the question he was going to ask before they were interrupted still very much on his mind. "You were saying something about a reminder, sir?"

Harri blushed a bit and laughed. "I guess you could say that I was the beneficiary of a bit of precognition. I had a dream or more appropriately a nightmare showing me what could happen if I didn't heed your advice. I've never been one to believe in ghosts Lee, but I was visited by a cadre of our former shipmates that encouraged me to revisit the reasons why I selected you to captain my boat."

"Ghosts, sir?" Lee replied. He gave the admiral a wry smile.

"I told you, you wouldn't believe me." Harri said returning Lee's smile.

"I've not been one myself to believe in them but if they do exist I welcome their intervention in this matter. It seems as though they've saved Seaview from potential disaster and by the looks of the calendar it also seems a most appropriate time for them to appear."

"Huh?" Harri responded. He looked down at the calendar on his desk and then nodded knowingly. He raised his glass in toast to his visitors. "So it would seem. Happy Halloween Lee and thanks to our shipmates past."

The End.