Chapter Two

"What?" he questioned, tossing his head and trying to hear the voice more clearly, but the garbled voice was hard to hear. Yet, somehow, he knew it wanted something from him.

His cabin in Officer's Country normally pitch black except for the small stream of light under his door, was strangely illuminated with a hazy glow beside his bunk. The haze wisped around in odd swirls, beckoning him to hear as the voice spoke again. Its whispers were disturbing, causing his head to toss in an uncomfortable attempt to break free. He was subject to its call as it whispered something important; something he must do.

The officer moaned at the heaviness in the air as the haze exerted its influence in pulses, downloading instructions without his consent. He tossed his head again, trying to fight off the barrage of information forced upon him, but the whispers were strong and overwhelming. Perspiration beaded on his forehead; his subconscious warring with the voice to obey its command. Finally, the voice's influence was overwhelming as his mind accepted its new duty. His weary mind couldn't fight any longer, even though he knew the whispers were demanding he betray the trust given to him, a trust he had earned over the years. However, he could no longer fight either the strength of the voice or the invasion of his mind and will. He tossed his head again, unable to waken as the haze persisted until the constant whispers filled him with more information than he could handle; more than he could take. Finally, when his distress had reached an apex of pain and confusion, the whispers stopped and the haze disappeared.

He took a deep breath, his head tossing one more time before the whispers turned to nothing more than a bad dream that faded instantly as his slumber returned to its normal cycle. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as the last evidence of his ordeal disappeared into a wet pool on his pillow, repeating the same pattern of the last three nights, with each night's visit becoming stronger and more distressing the closer they got to their destination.

In the morning he would wake, and as with the other nights, would remember nothing of the whispers that plagued his sleep. And though he woke wearier with each passing day, he remained unaware of the instructions the whispers demanded; nevertheless, it was hidden deep inside of him, ready to be enacted at the right time.

# # # # #

"Good morning, Chip," Lee greeted as he entered the Wardroom for breakfast.

"Good morning," the blond replied, watching as Lee headed straight for the buffet, dishing out a light breakfast, even for Lee Crane, then taking it back to the table and sitting down with a sigh.

"Have a rough night?" Chip asked with a raised eyebrow, noticing his tired countenance and the fact that he was nearly twenty minutes late for breakfast this morning.

"What makes you say that?" Lee asked, forking his scrambled eggs and ignoring the smirk from across the table. "Just moving a little slower this morning, that's all."

"Really?" Chip asked sardonically, in over-played disbelief.

Lee continued to ignore his best friend as the steward filled his coffee cup. "Thanks, Randy," he offered politely and took a long sip of the steaming brew, purposefully ignoring Chip's last playfully sarcastic remark. Chip's signature emotionless face greeted him from across the table as he intentionally ignored the explanation his first officer was attempting to goad out of him.

"Couldn't be because you spent half the night helping the Dog Watch sort out a minor maintenance detail in the Circuitry Room?" Chip probed, demonstrating once again his uncanny awareness of the going's on aboard the sub.

Lee's straight face broke a smile, having invoked the response he was going for, by forcing Chip to spill what he knew.

"Firstly, for your information, mother," he said, adding the last word quite facetiously, "I only held the flashlight for Marcos, and it was no more than forty minutes; hardly all night," he added with a smirk. "And secondly, I'm the Captain of this sub and I'll stay up as long as I damn well please," the last added with a smile to show he wasn't really angry, just meeting Chip's playful sarcasm with his own.

Chip looked across the table, merely raising an eyebrow to indicate that he wasn't letting Lee off the hook that easily.

"Besides," Lee continued, "I was up hours ago; already been to the Control Room and signed off on the log book; on my third cup of coffee; and by the way, you were still sawing logs when I passed by your cabin this morning," he said, adding his own playful jab at his executive officer/best friend.

Chip's unreadable command face held out for only a few seconds more, before he relented in a smile and a small chuckle.

"So, what took you so long to make it to breakfast?" he asked nonchalantly, but definitely going somewhere specific.

Lee stared down the blond, his brow narrowing, as Chip wondered if he had pushed this too far. It really was playful fun, but he intended to make a point about the Skipper of the Boat participating in such work details. It was his job to keep the mundane matters of maintenance out of the captain's way, so that his concern could be spent on the more pressing duties of commanding Seaview.

Lee shrugged, forking another load of eggs. "It dawned on me this morning what we were missing last night. I grabbed Phil and supervised the fix," he fessed up with a smile that said, so what are you going to do about it?

Chip chuckled. "I figured as much, just giving you a hard time, Lee," he admitted, knowing that one of the reasons Seaview ran as efficiently as it did was because of her captain's uncanny connection with her. Lee knew the boat inside and out, and that fact brought both great respect and comfort to Seaview's crew.

"Well, now it's my turn," Lee said, putting down his coffee cup and losing his earlier playfulness. "You've been looking a little tired lately, anything I should know about?" he asked pointedly. It wasn't something a captain would normally asked his first officer when it wasn't affecting his duties; this was the brother in him talking.

"No, I don't think so. I'm sleeping, just waking up a little tired is all," he confessed readily.

Lee nodded, accepting his answer. "If it keeps up, see Jamie. We'll be under the pack ice soon and I need you at your best," he added, returning the inquiry to his right to know as captain, but completely trusting in Chip's judgement in the matter.

"Aye Skipper," Chip replied, not surprised that his best friend would notice what most people would never spot, before glancing at his watch and raising a brow at the time. He stood, collected his tray and coffee cup as Lee did the same then deposited their dishes in the bins provided for the kitchen detail to deal with, and headed for the door.

"Hold down the fort, Chip," Lee said, turning aft, in the opposite direction of the Control Room, "I'm going to check on the Admiral in the lab."

"Aye, aye, Sir," the Exec replied, before heading on his way in the opposite direction.

# # # # #

Lee knocked then peered around the partially opened door, waiting for an invitation before entering completely.

"Lee, come in," the Admiral greeted amicably, even though he was deep in the middle of a thought at the moment, considering a plethora of maps, charts, and data that were splayed across the table.

Lee moved to the table recognizing the sea charts, mapping out the vicinity for which Seaview was currently in route; though it looked like a haphazard mess, Lee knew it was actually laid out quite logically. One map in particular was prominently displayed on the work table, whose prior lab apparatuses had long since been removed to make room to spread out. The circled region was superimposed with the sea quake data he had brought to Harry's attention before leaving port.

"Good morning, Admiral," he replied with a small smile, eying the sea chart Harry was currently marking with notes. "I was wondering what was keeping you busy these last few days."

"Hmmm?" Harry answered distractedly, before answering fully. "Yes, well I've been working on narrowing our search coordinates, and I've found something fascinating, Lee."

Lee's brow tightened in response as Harry continued.

"This region not only has had a rash of recent earthquakes," Harry said reaching for the map prominently displayed in the center of his work table, "but there has also been some atmospheric activity as well." Harry's excitement for the new information was clearly visible as he reached for yet another chart, pointing to the data as he spoke. "The aurora borealis activity in this region was heightened significantly and seems to correspond directly with the quakes registered. I ran the mathematics, and the correlation co-efficient demonstrates a solid .93 bi-variate correlation, and reveals the high probability of correlation between the two events," he answered excitedly and barreling forward with his explanation, as Lee leaned over to examine the data for himself. "For every quake registered, the expected aurora activity was affected; increasing the ionization of the atmosphere during the actual time of the quake, before returning to its expected activity after the seismic activity ceased. Now, I know that for two variables measuring physical occurrences we would like to see a higher correlation, but Lee, look what happened when I tested the statistical probability for the duration of the two activities."

Lee was keenly interested in Harry's findings; it wasn't just the math, which he knew Harry calculated flawlessly, but it was the level of excitement the results had generated in the Admiral that convinced him the most.

"The Pearson-R for these two numbers is nearly perfect at a positive .99, demonstrating that the high likelihood of a correlation between the duration of both the seismic and atmospheric activities are indeed related," he finished, taking his first full breath as the twinkle in his eyes was accompanied with a definite tight-lipped smile that shouted extreme satisfaction for anyone who knew him well.

Lee turned the chart to examine the data himself, shaking his head and raising an eyebrow as he did so.

"So, what do you think it means?"

"Well, that's the million-dollar question, because we aren't investigating the recent quakes or the increase of intensity in the expected aurora, but a strange disturbance that is, at best, explained as sonar 'pings'."

Lee's brow furled in thought as his bottom lip pursed. "It's odd that whatever is frightening the local fish and sea mammal population away from the region can be measured by sound waves, seismic activity, and electrical disturbances in the atmosphere."

Harry leaned back expelling a breath in thought. "I see what you're saying; by sound via sonar, physically as measured by the seismograph, and by sight if measured by an increase in intensity in the expected aurora during the quakes. Sight, sound, and feel," he repeated out loud, reaching for his notebook to capture his thoughts while the iron was still hot.

Lee recognized the look in his best friend's eyes and knew that Harry was going to be knee-deep in more calculations and resisted a smile as he took the time to excuse himself.

"Well, let me know what you come up with; I'm keenly interested in your conclusions," he offered as Harry merely nodded while he quickly jotted down notes. "I'd better head up to the Control Room," he continued, with the Admiral muttering something incomprehensible in a distracted acknowledgement of his departure.

Lee closed the door behind him, cracking a small smile at Harry's child-like excitement and realizing that he probably wouldn't be seeing the Admiral for another two days. Harry was relentless when he was onto a new discovery or explanation such as this, and knew that he'd likely be sequestered in his lab until he was satisfied with his conclusions. He headed forward making a mental note to have a steward assigned to Harry for his meals and hot coffee for the duration of his expected isolation. They would be reaching their target coordinate grid in another three days and he had no doubt that the genius admiral would have something substantial to add to the likelihood of a successful investigation.

At the last thought, a rush of cool air sped through him, invoking a shudder at the unexpected coolness and its just as sudden, dissipation. The event caused him to stop in his tracks as the coolness had passed through his body, leaving his hands trembling slightly in a sudden rush of adrenaline. As the coolness passed he heard something; though not audible, his mind vaguely heard a word almost disguised as a rush of wind. It was too distant to grasp, and as the coolness dissipated it took with it the knowledge of the word it had deposited into Lee's mind; freiheit.

Lee took a deep breath and righted himself from the bulkhead, remembering the rush of cool air, but not the message embedded into him, and shook his head to clear his mind. He looked up at the nearest air vent and purposed to have DC run a check on Seaview's revitalization and environmental controls, before continuing his forward progress to the Control Room.

# # # # #

Chip Morton stood at the Chart Table reviewing Seaview's last check point, when a yawn nearly escaped. He raised the back of his hand to his mouth and swallowed it back, then dipped his head in an effort to covertly squeeze the bridge of his nose. He'd been sleeping at night, he was sure of it, but he wasn't sure why he'd been so tired lately. He raised his head, shaking off the lethargy just in time to spot Lee stepping over the aft hatch, and quickly busied himself with the sea chart in front of him.

"Status, Mr. Morton," Lee ordered, approaching the chart table and picking up a pencil and straight edge to check the last marked check point.

"Depth 200 feet, running at Standard and meeting check points as plotted, Sir," he replied deftly, on top of his game despite the weariness he was working to hide.

"Very well," Lee answered, perusing the Control Room situation lights before returning his attention to the chart table. He made a quick calculation of the next check point, satisfying himself with Seaview's progress before turning his attention to other matters of the Boat. "Chip, put a detail on checking the Environmental Controls; it seems to be going haywire every once in a while."

Chip raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. "In what way?" he inquired, needing to know the symptoms to pass on to the maintenance detail.

"Some kind of intermittent problem; a few times I noticed it being rather chilly, then later it's fine."

"Aye Skipper, I'll get a detail on it right away," he replied, stepping away from the Chart Table and taking a few steps toward Sharkey, who was marking plots on the Position Board. "Chief," he called a few steps from him.

"Aye Sir," Sharkey answered turning his full attention to the XO.

"The Skipper has noticed an intermittent problem with Environmental Controls; it seems that it's running on the cold side then correcting itself."

"Aye Sir, I'll get right on it," he replied, ready to move into action and knowing without a shadow of a doubt, that if the Skipper said something was off… it was off!

Chip nodded his reply then headed back to the chart table, where Lee had already plotted out the check points for the next two watches. "Sharkey's on it," he informed his superior officer to Lee's acknowledging nod.

"Thanks Chip," he returned amicably, their decorum less formal when conversing privately. "Oh, before I forget, the Admiral is on a roll in the lab."

Chip nodded knowingly, he figured as much since they hadn't seen much of him for the last two days.

"He's onto to something new and you know what that means," he stated rather than asked with a small smile.

"Aye Sir, I'll assign a steward to keep the coffee coming and deliver his meals," the blond replied, demonstrating the fact that he knew the Admiral just as well.

Lee let out a small chuckle and shook his head, leaning in closer to keep their conversation private. "You should have seen him, when he's onto something he's like a bloodhound on the scent of his quarry, and you can put your bottom dollar on the bet that he'll solve the mystery before he's through," he said, in an open compliment of Harry's genius.

Chip allowed his own grin to surface and nodded in agreement. "Aye, that would be a winning bet for sure," he agreed.

Lee held the smile for a moment longer, raising his head and scanning the situation boards once again before letting it fade as he got back to boat's business. "I'll be back to cover the Con while you conduct the training simulation for the Detection gear at 1400 hours," he informed, taking a quick look at his watch as he spoke. "I'll be in my cabin if you need me, my in-box needs some attention," he quipped.

"Aye Sir, I'll see you at lunch," Chip replied, raising an eyebrow to make sure that Seaview's captain had that little detail on his agenda.

"Always thinking with your stomach, Morton," he jested quietly and sharing a small smile for the on-going dig he shared with his best friend. The blond was as fit as could be, and it was a wonder to all concerned that he maintained such a physically fit frame with his well-known hearty appetite. Of course, he was fully aware that Chip Morton was also an avid athlete and burned off his calories even aboard Seaview, in the boat's small, but efficient gym.

Chip responded with his famous unreadable command face, still inquiring about Lee's commitment to the noon meal.

"I'll see you at lunch," Lee relented with a small smile and headed toward the spiral staircase, taking the steps two at a time and ready to tackle the ever-fruitful in-box, which seemed to multiply faithfully on an hourly basis.

Chip smiled faintly, before reaching to rub out his tired neck muscles almost without thought. He caught himself and returned his attention to his duties, vowing to hit the sack an hour earlier tonight.

# # # # #

Harry sat bent over his lab table, busily working through mathematical formulas and postulating just what the figures were telling him. He was currently knee-deep in calculating the source of the ionization of the atmosphere resulting in the increased intensity of the expected aurora, especially when the solar wind activity for those days hadn't seemed to support the events' intensity levels. So deep in concentration was he that he barely noted and subsequently ignored, the sudden cool brush of breeze that swept passed him. The breeze seemed to circulate around the table, before passing by him again and quickly dissipating through the closed lab door. This time, Harry raised his head, noting the change in temperature and raised his head to scrutinize the vent across the room before returning to his calculations. He continued working, noting the room's temperature returning to normal, and filing away the incident to be dealt with later. For now, he was completely engrossed in the mystery pings and their now mathematical correlation to the aurora and sea quakes.