CHAPTER 3

By JULES6

Author Notes - some of the dialogue for this chapter comes from different episodes in Season 1. Mainly from Photon Bullet so I could complete the background about Node 3. I did use some lines completely, others I added a word or two and some I took some of them out.

I have generalized the hacking that they were doing and make no mention of them getting into the World Bank. I have added a few original scenes too in relation to what happened to Lucas, just adding "what might" have come next.

I have also added a scene with dialogue from the episode Higher Power as I had always like the way Lucas got mad about how he was left out. I wanted to use it, and changed it to add into some of the scenes for this story.

I have this strange quirk when I write a story to nearly always have Bridger and the others seeing what is happening to Lucas. So when I do things like get them altogether or have them meet up and discuss what they need to do – this is why.

I have also included a flashback scene where I have some of the crew remembering what was said – (use of dialogue from the episode) and what they were doing at that particular time. It breaks up the flow of the story a little, but hopefully it will work smoothly enough to make sense – please bear with me.

This chapter is quite lengthy.

and the story continues…………….

Bridger thought Lucas would be happy to hear that one of his friends was onboard SeaQuest, if he could find him this morning. He had started at the teenager's room, but found it empty.

The Captain headed down the stairs towards Deck C and saw Ben Krieg coming towards him from the opposite direction. "Lieutenant, have you seen Lucas this morning?"

"No, Sir, I haven't," Krieg replied, trying to pinpoint when he had seen his friend last. "Is there a problem?"

"I just wanted to tell him about Martin Clemens being here, I am sure they have lots to catch up on," Bridger responded. "If you see Lucas, just let him know I am looking for him, please."

"Will do, Sir."

Nathan walked down the stairs, headed towards Med-Bay and Doctor Westphalen. He entered one of the main rooms to find Martin Clemens, not only awake, but chatting quietly with Kristin.

"Well, it's nice to see you up and around so soon, Martin," Bridger said as he neared them.

"Hello again, Captain," Clemens greeted, "Thank you for rescuing me and my sub."

"Mr Clemens has made a remarkable recovery overnight. There is still some slight swelling to the gash on his head, but he has no memory loss or headache," Kristin commented, giving a run-down on the man's latest medical condition.

"Our pleasure, but I am afraid that Commander Ford tells me that your sub faired a little worse than yourself. It's going to be a while before we can get the parts to repair it."

"Damn!" Clemens exclaimed, clenching his fist and punching the mattress of the bed that he was sitting on, unable to disguise his frustration. "I am sorry, Captain, but my work is important to me and any delays are disappointing."

"I am sure it is, Martin, but whatever you're working on can wait a day or two. Normally I would offer you a ride on SeaQuest back to Pearl, but at the moment I have some problems of my own in this area that I need to address," Bridger said, giving Kristin a questioning look at the man's small outburst.

"How about once you have had a chance to shower, I can give you a tour of SeaQuest and after that we can something to eat for lunch. That might help keep you occupied for a few hours," the doctor suggested.

Clemens reminded himself that he couldn't afford to appear ungrateful to the Captain and his crew at this point in time. He might be able to gain some useful information to help his cause. He had been access to a few of the general areas last visit, but had yet to see any of the more important facilities that the SeaQuest was equipped with.

"Excuse me a moment, I will retrieve some clothes for you," Kristen said, walking out of Med-Bay towards the supply area.

"I apologize Captain, I do appreciated what you have done so far," Clemens remarked, looking about the room and realizing what fascinating technology had been afforded to SeaQuest and her crew.

"I tried to find Lucas this morning to let him know you were here. He fell asleep last night before I could mention it to him," Bridger spoke, changing the subject entirely.

"Oh, I forgot that Lucas was aboard," Clemens lied. "He certainly is an impressive young man."

Bridger smiled proudly, "Yes he is. You two must have a lot to talk about."

This was where Clemen's facial expression changed, "You know Nathan, I might have a bit of explaining to do there."

"Oh?" Bridger replied, a little perplexed.

"You see……," he began trying to think of how to put it, "Lucas and I had a bit of a falling out. An argument, so to speak."

"A falling out?" Bridger sounded surprised. "He hasn't mentioned anything before about it." But thinking back to the odd behaviour of the teenager since they had found the mini-sub, it certainly made sense. Lucas had been at the Moon Pool when they pulled Clemens out, and the crew had noticed him walking away.

"Its nothing to worry about, Lucas was pretty mad at me after Node 3. I don't want to put him in an awkward situation and make him feel like he needs to talk to me."

"I don't know what to tell you then Martin, it's not like I can keep your presence on here a secret from Lucas. Most of the other crew members saw you here, and I am sure it will get back to Lucas at some point."

"Who is keeping secrets from whom?" Kristin asked, re-entering the Med-Bay carrying a fresh change of clothes and towels.

"Martin says that Lucas may not be too happy to see him after all," Bridger said, surmising the conversation that had just taken place between them.

"I thought you two were good friends?" Kristin queried.

"Its pretty hard to explain, it wasn't anything Lucas said or did," Clemens admitted. "I just got a little carried away."

"Well, whatever it was, I am sure that Lucas has forgotten about it by now. Node 3 was three years ago and he isn't usually someone to hold a grudge," Bridger stated, defending the teenager, but unaware of what had transpired.

Clemens clammed up a little at this point, not wanting to divulge anymore details. He didn't know how much Lucas had told Bridger or his crew. The puzzled looks on their faces sparked his curiosity greatly.

"I'll take that shower now, doctor, and be grateful for that tour."

Kristin nodded her head in agreement, both her and Bridger watching as the black man slowly walked towards the shower room. Both of them share a look.

"Let me know how the tour goes, I am going to find Lucas," Bridger informed her.

On his way through the maze of SeaQuest's corridors, Nathan ran into Ben Krieg for the second time.

"I found Lucas for you, Captain!" Krieg said as he stopped to talk. "Blew through the Bridge about half an hour ago."

"What was he doing on the Bridge?"

"Like a bear with a sore head, Captain. Snapping at O'Neill, chewing out Ortiz and telling Ford he could shove it," Ben stated matter-of-factly. "Not like him, Sir, to go off at people like that."

"No it's not, Lieutenant," Bridger reluctantly agreed. He was still only gathering the pieces of this puzzle together, but somehow they were not falling into place to tell the whole story.

"What's going on Captain?"

"I wish I knew, Ben. But, I am beginning to not like it."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Ben queried, noting the growing concern of the Captain when Lucas's name was used.

"Nothing for now, I am going to find, Lucas, but keep me informed," Bridger asked, heading off towards Lucas's quarters. "Tell Commander Ford on the Bridge and the others to stay alert."

"Aye, Captain," Ben saluted. When he got to the Bridge, Ford and O'Neill had been mulling over Lucas's bad mood, and were discussing what was bothering him. Ben told them what Bridger had said, but they weren't entirely sure what they needed to be ready for.

Lucas regretted shouting at the crew on the Bridge the way he had, and by the time he had reached the sanctity of his cabin, his anger had all but petered out. Now he was cranky at himself more than anybody else.

He slammed the hatch door in frustration, but didn't realize that it had not fully closed. He wanted to pound his fist against something.

When he had awoken this morning, he just wanted to keep to himself. Hoping that he could avoid any unnecessary questions. He still had too much on his mind about Mycroft, no matter how much he wanted to deny it to himself.

What would he do if Bridger or the crew found out what happened? Would they blame him? Would they take any action against Mycroft? Too many questions were running through his mind, and not enough answers.

He then remembered something, a precaution he had taken those three years ago. At the time he thought that the Captain might find out much earlier what had happened, and part of him also wanted to make sure that he had evidence of what had occurred, in case Mycroft had wanted to deliberately seek him out and cause trouble.

Sitting down at his work desk, Lucas hurriedly tried to make contact with Nick, his friend from Node 3.

Bridger had reached Lucas's room, he was about to knock, but instead heard voices coming from inside. Normally he wouldn't condone listening in on the boy's conversation, but at the same time, he wanted to know what was bothering the teenager.

"Thank you for choosing Internex" came the computer greeting.

"Please enter usercode and password"

Bridger heard distinct tapping coming from the keyboard, indicating Lucas had done that.

"Wolfman you lurking around here somewhere?" came the computer generated voice of Lucas's online identity Frankenstein.

A response came back in the form of a howl, like a wolf.

"You up for a little game today? Frankenstein asked.

"Not after the last time, Frankie, I am still licking my wounds here."

"Please, I got some wounds of my own."

Bridger frowned at this admission from Lucas. Was he speaking metaphorically and meant emotional wounds? Lord knows that over the years the teenager had carried around enough of those.

Lucas's tone of voice now changed to serious, "Nick, I need to talk to you."

From where he was standing, Bridger could see Lucas's computer screen, and the face of another teenager. He had been told about Nick, or Wolfman but hadn't met him face to face yet. Lucas seemed to be great friends with him and usually became highly animated when telling the crew about what great things he had done. Wolfman had mostly become someone who Lucas confided in outside of the crew.

"What's up."

"SeaQuest rescued a mini-sub last night, guess who was onboard?"

"The Easter Buddy," Nick joked, but stopped the short laugh when he saw the look on his friend's face. "Sorry, Lucas."

Lucas waved his hand, gesturing to his friend not to worry about the bad taste. "Mycroft."

Nick had been taking a sip of a drink, and nearly spat it all over the screen at Lucas when he recognized the name. "Mycroft!"

"Yep," came Lucas's short response.

"Has he seen you yet?"

"No, but he's not stupid, he knows where I live."

"Lucas, you be careful around him. He has a loose wire you know."

"Yeah, I know, but that is partly why I called you. Do you still have that security camera file that we backed up from Node 3?"

"Yes, somewhere in my databank," Nick answered. "You thinking of using it?"

"No…… not really," Lucas stumbled, "Just in case."

"Okay, it is a bit fragmented and skips in a couple of places, so it may take a little while to email them to you. Do you want it to go to your computer?"

"Yes, I am going out for a few minutes now for something to eat, but I will get it when I come back. Make sure you keep the original."

"Where has he been for the last 3 years?"

"I don't know."

"He is nobody to mess with Lucas. I am sending that file now."

"I know, don't worry, I plan to stay out of his way as much as possible."

"You have to tell Bridger what happened."

But Lucas ended the link just as Nick uttered the sentence.

'You are receiving 1 new email' the computer chirped. But Lucas could see that the file was rather large and going to take quite a few minutes to download.

Bridger quickly walked back from the doorway a few metres, not wanting the teenager to find out about his eavesdropping. Now he walked up to the door and made some noise so as to announce his presence, "Knock, Knock."

"It's open," Lucas responded, standing up and playing nervously with his shirt tail.

"Hey, glad I caught you," Bridger greeted him, not hinting at any of what he had heard.

"I guess you are wanting some sort of explanation for what happened on the Bridge?" Lucas asked, looking contrite.

"Not really," Bridger replied, "Ben told me that you had given a mouthful to some of the crew."

"I didn't mean it, Captain, I guess I am just over-tired or something. Too much work," Lucas tried to justify, knowing that his apology wasn't worth a pinch of salt now. "I was just headed towards the mess to get a bite to eat."

"I think they would like to hear this from you, Lucas. I am sure that they know you didn't mean it. They had noticed you being a little moody since coming back from Andromeda."

"They have?" Lucas asked curiously, feeling guilty now and casting his gaze towards the floor.

"I came to tell you about the person we found in the mini-sub," Bridger told him, trying to read the teenager's body language.

"Oh?" Lucas answered, trying to sound surprised and a little disinterested. Unfortunately though, Bridger could see a different expression on the teenager's face.

"Martin Clemens," Bridger uttered.

"Mycroft," Lucas said in mock surprise.

"Yes, he took a small knock to the head, but he seems fine this morning. He should be getting a grand tour of the SeaQuest with Kristin right about now."

A few stray thoughts ran through Lucas's mind at this statement, thinking to himself that it was not such a good idea for Mycroft to be allowed so much free access on the SeaQuest. First and foremost Clemens was a hacker, and

Lucas knew first hand what sort of damage he might be able to do to a vessel whose every system, from life-support to basic communication was reliant on some form of computer technology.

By now, he had spent an extended period time living under the ocean, and had designed most of the software for the vessel himself. After some hairy incidents involving people like Marilyn Stark, the SeaQuest couldn't afford not to have a top notch security system. He had always been careful enough to create a complex network of security measures and system checks into his programming.

Bridger frowned a little, seeing the teenager's thoughts ticking over, but about what he couldn't determine.

"Did you want to go and see him now?" Bridger asked plainly.

"Um, you know, Captain, not right now," Lucas stammered, much as Clemens had done in Med-Bay. "I want to go and see Commander Ford on the Bridge about those components he wanted and apologize for acting like a jerk earlier."

"I see," Bridger replied, not sounding too convinced.

Lucas decided it was time for a little of the truth to be told, "Captain, what I mean to say is……… well, Mycroft and I had a disagreement back on Node 3, so I don't think we have all that much in common to talk about anymore."

"Oh, well I am sorry to hear that, Lucas."

"Don't worry about it Captain, I am not and it doesn't matter anymore. I will see you later. I'm headed off to the Bridge now and maybe get some food afterwards."

"I might do that too," Bridger replied, still a little uncertain about Lucas's reaction to Clemens. "Make sure you take your PAL with you, I might need to talk to you later."

Lucas had exited his room before Bridger got a chance to say anything else, picking up his communicator and shoving it the pocket of his baggy jeans as he went out. Bridger was about to leave himself to find Kristen, when the computer chirped again.

"You have 1 downloaded file."

Must be that file that Lucas wanted from Node 3 Bridger thought to himself.

Twice in one day, Bridger was going to berate himself for being entirely too nosy. He knew that reading Lucas's private email was even worse than listening at the door, but he couldn't help but feel that something was going on, and that he was being left in the dark. There was still a large cloud of mystery surrounding what had happened at Node 3 as far as he was concerned.

Lucas would be gone for a while, but Bridger couldn't help but feel like a rat-fink when he closed the door and sat down at the computer desk. He knew the teenager would be fuming mad at him if he found out as he moved

the mouse towards the file and clicked on Copy.

Bridger didn't want to risk sitting in the teenager's room to view whatever was on the file, so he used his PAL communicator to hail the Bridge, "Commander Ford."

"Yes, Captain, Sir," Ford responded to his own communicator beeping.

"Commander, I am going to send a file to the Bridge, I have just made a copy of it and want to send it to the Bridge first, and then re-route it to a more secured link in the Ward Room." Hopefully if he did it this way, Lucas wouldn't notice that the file was copied or sent anywhere.

"Aye, Sir," Ford said in acknowledgement to the Captain's request. "Where are you now, Sir?"

"I am in Lucas's room."

Upon hearing this, not only did Commander Ford find the direction odd, but O'Neill and Ortiz were looking at him, all thinking the same thing.

"Lucas's room?" Ford queried out loud.

"I know what you are thinking, Jonathan, and you are right, Lucas isn't going to be too happy with me when he finds out. But right now, I have a moody teenager who is not telling me something and a file that might contain some of the answers. This all has something to do with Martin Clemens being on board I think, and I want to know what it is."

"We won't tell Lucas unless you want us to," Ford said, not liking the idea of keeping secrets from the teenage computer whiz. Lucas didn't get angry very often, most of the time the kid was quite the opposite and kept his emotions and thoughts distant. But this morning, Lucas had proven he still had all the full-blooded raging hormones of any normal seventeen year old, with a short temper to match.

Lucas had become a lot more comfortable talking to the senior crew during his time on SeaQuest, and those few select members couldn't help but like his gentle nature and laugh at his quick wit. The teenager probably didn't realize just how much notice everyone did take of him, or how much he was liked.

"Has he been to the Bridge yet, Commander, he left here a few minutes ago and said he was headed there to apologize for what he said earlier."

"Lucas was here just a few seconds ago, Captain, and did apologize, but he didn't stay long and still looked like he was distracted by something. He said that he was headed to the mess for lunch I think."

"Thank you, I am headed there now myself, to join him, please let me know when the file has been received. I will look at it as soon as I can."

Bridger found Lucas at the mess, gathering a tray for lunch. He grabbed a tray himself joined the line to fill his plate. He watched as Lucas grabbed a juice box and a slice of pizza that didn't look very appetizing.

"Doesn't look like a whole lot on your plate, Lucas," Bridger said from behind.

Lucas had been deep in thought as he walked along, not really taking any notice of what he put on his lunch plate. "Food is food," was the disinterested reply.

Lucas walked towards a vacant table, and didn't object when then Captain asked to sit with him, holding his own tray.

"Something on your mind?"

"No," Lucas declared defensively. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"About nothing," Lucas answered vaguely, pushing the small straw into the juice container.

Bridger could see that he wasn't getting any of Lucas's attention, but didn't want to push too much for the boy to become suspicious.

Nathan was about to probe a little more on the subject, but before he could, Kristin and Martin Clemens walked into the mess, ready for their own lunch. The doctor had a small smile on her face, and was chatting idly to the man, looking very pleased to be talking to such an intelligent person.

The conversation stopped, as the air in the room filled with tension. Clemens looked over and spotted the blond teenager, but didn't say anything to him.

Lucas on the other hand had stood up, and glared back at the man intensely, his hand gripping the table quite tightly. It was as if both of them were waiting for the other to say something first. Bridger and Kristen exchanged concerned looks.

"I am going to the science labs," the teenager informed them. In his haste to leave the room, he had forgotten all about the file that he was waiting to finish uploading from Nick.

"But you haven't eaten anything," Bridger challenged, "Not that you have much on your plate to begin with."

"Suddenly I have lost my appetite…………," Lucas commented unable to disguise just how much he didn't want to be in the same room as Clemens.

Mycroft watched the youth leave through an opposite door, noting his immediate distrust.

"I am sorry, Captain and Kristin, I didn't know he was going to be here. I didn't mean for him to skip a meal because of my presence."

Bridger was beginning to become annoyed at not finding out was going on. "Skipping meals is something Lucas does more regularly than I would like to tell you, Martin. Don't take it personally."

"Thank you for the tour, doctor, the SeaQuest is a mighty achievement," Clemens complimented. "Right now I think I will return to Med-Bay and try to catch some sleep." Mycroft knew that he had to confront Lucas.

Bridger and Kristin watched Clemens walked back the way he had just come from the tour. Both of them looked down at Lucas's uneaten lunch tray. Something was definitely not right between these two.

"Just exactly how 'bad' was this falling out," Kristen whispered.

"Come with me and we will both find out together."

As he and Kristin walked towards the Ward Room, Bridger contacted Ford on his communicator, "Commander, do you have that file ready?" The doctor gave him a puzzled look, but followed him.

"All ready, Sir," Ford announced, "I was just about to page you."

"Tell Commander Hitchcock that she has the Bridge please, and then I want to meet with you, Ortiz, O'Neill and Lieutenant Krieg in the Ward Room."

"Is everything alright, Captain?"

"I don't know," came the brief reply, but the determination in Bridger's voice was unmistakable. In the back of his mind, Nick's idle comments were beginning to play over and over, 'Lucas, you be careful around him. He has a loose wire you know.'

Within a few minutes, the crew members that Bridger had asked for were seated at the Ward Room table. They had been talking idly amongst themselves for a few moments about why the Captain wanted them, and something involving Lucas.

Bridger spoke first, telling them what he wanted to do. "I am sure that you are aware of Lucas's odd behaviour lately. Martin Clemens told us today it was because he and Lucas had an argument. Lucas seemed to confirm that when I spoke with him earlier."

"But after this morning, Kristin and I have becoming increasingly worried that there is something more than a mere disagreement. Lucas stormed out of the lunch room a short time ago, headed for the science labs. I know he spends a lot of time down there normally, but right now I think it is because he is trying his best possible to avoid this Mycroft."

"Why?" Ben Krieg piped in.

"That's what I intend to find out here now with you all. Lucas received a file earlier that I think will answer our concerns. I asked Commander Ford to re-route a copy of the file that I made earlier. I know Lucas isn't going to be thrilled."

"Before we go any further, Tim, can you trace the signal of Lucas's PAL communicator and tell where he is now?"

O'Neill pressed a few buttons on the console sitting in the centre of the table, "Yes, Sir." The crew members waited for the results. "He is in Science Lab 5."

"That's right at the back of the boat," Ortiz mentioned, running through a map of the SeaQuest in his head and pinpointing where it was located.

"Like I said, trying to avoid him…," Bridger repeated, knowing that this was one of Lucas's defensive ploys. If he was going to avoid someone here on SeaQuest, of course the youth would choose somewhere as far out of the way as possible. Nathan could sense Lucas building up barricades around himself again when they had made so much progress up to now to knocking them down and gaining the teenager's trust.

"There are security cameras all over that area, let me see if I can find the right one," Tim informed the group, pressing a different set of buttons on the console.

"Bring up the image on this screen here," Bridger directed. "We can view this file on the second screen beside it there."

The crew watched as Tim linked to the security camera loop and tried to find the correct signal. Within a few minutes, they could clearly see the images being relayed back from Science Lab 5.

Lucas could be seen sitting at a large narrow work bench that took up about 60 percent of the room. Along the walls of the laboratory they could see the other work surfaces, scientific equipment and measuring tools that were commonplace. The teenager had no idea that he was being watched. The fibre optic surveillance camera complete with microphone was located up in the right hand corner above and behind him.

Bridger relaxed slightly upon seeing the teenager safe. He noted the boy hunched over an electron microscope, his blond hair in the way. Every now and then Lucas would mutter something and then scribble on a notebook laying beside him.

Perhaps they had jumped to too many conclusions about Clemens and were being way too over-protective, Bridger began to think to himself. He now focused everyone's attention back to the second screen, clicking on the open button of the copied file.

The footage began and showed the inside of a building. Up on one of the interior walls, there was the some large white lettering, identify a company name; NODE 3

"Isn't that the place where we took Lucas to a few years ago," Krieg spoke up, recognizing the images they were watching.

"Yes, Ben. Lucas asked his friend Nick to send him footage of the security cameras from there that they saved."

Ford recognized how the lettering matched what they had identified yesterday on the damaged mini-sub.

"Why would they have wanted to save the security footage," O'Neill asked, sounding puzzled.

"The video is fragmented, and we are getting a slow upload," Ortiz informed them. "This doesn't look to be all of the footage, just some of it."

"It is difficult to know which day of his visit this is," Krieg commented.

The images they could see were of a few teenage kids, sitting at computer consoles, tapping away. Lucas appeared to be sitting closer to the front, with his friend Nick to the left and a pretty girl behind him to the right.

What the crew in the Ward Room were yet to learn was that the series of events following, would stay with each of them for a long time.

The footage showed Martin Clemens also sitting at a computer console, highly agitated.

Lucas was speaking softly into a headset to one of his friends, but the crew couldn't hear what was being said. He did give a little more volume the next sentence, "Yeah, and then what? I'm going stop it."

Now Lucas could be seen tapping at the keyboard at a feverish pace, with Mycroft standing in front of the group of kids, and a large screen covering the majority of the back wall of the room. Bridger and his team could see a map of the world and neon flashes of light moving across it, seemingly in direct response to whatever the teenager was doing.

Martin Clemens laughed triumphantly, "The World Superhighway and Data Network, fully trapped . . . mine," but just as the words left his lips, the main computer screen behind him went totally blank.

"What!" Clemens shouted in rage.

"I shut down the Node." Lucas declared in a loud voice.

"Put us back online NOW!," Mycroft demanded angrily, slamming his fists down on the table for emphasis, scarcely able to believe that the boy had somehow managed thwarted his efforts when he was so close to victory.

"No, no, what you are doing is totally wrong and irresponsible," Lucas shouted hotly back in refusal.

"We're on the doorstep of global synchronicity," pointing his finger menacingly at Lucas. "You can't stop me. I will not fail!" Clemens yelled, pushing one of the other kids away from their console roughly, and sitting down, trying to counteract whatever measures Lucas had taken. "I've been here before."

"Yeah, and killed a man," Lucas accused with contempt, not stopping his hands on the keyboard. This statement shocked all seated at the Ward Room table. Mycroft might have been considered a bit eccentric or even obsessive, but they didn't know anything about him killing someone.

"I made a mistake," Clemens cried in his own defence.

"Some mistake," Lucas chuffed with sarcasm. "You're doing it all over again. I am not totally nuts like you? You are affecting millions of lives, real people's lives. This isn't some game on the Internex where you see every consequence in neat 3-D graphics."

"I'm destroying war, corruption; I'm ripping the heart out of greed."

"You can't do that by changing numbers. These things won't go away until we get to know each other, one by one, face to face. You said it yourself Clemens, it hurts in here," Lucas pointed to his chest. This is where you have to make it better."

The crew watching the footage couldn't be more proud about the broken speech of tolerance that Lucas was giving. Until now they were didn't realize just how good an understanding the teenager had on some of the more complex issues facing the U.E.O. Some of the real humanitarian reasons the SeaQuest was brought into commission in the first place.

"You're only a child; you've never felt pain. I took a life," Clemens patronized.

'How little you know about Lucas', Bridger thought to himself at such a statement.

"And I'm not going to let you take any more," Lucas exclaimed, his hands flying over the keyboard at a dizzying speed. Just as he finished the last keystroke, the main screen went blank again, the flickering signals of the map stopped.

"NO! NO!" Clemens roared in anger, jumping out of his chair and charging at Lucas.

The SeaQuest crew watched in horror as Mycroft roughly grabbed the teenager by his shirt and pulled him from the console's chair. The man was furious, and instantly wrapped his right hand around Lucas's slender neck before he was able to defend himself.

Bridger jumped to his feet, as did Krieg, briefly forgetting that they were watching what had already taken place several years ago. "That animal," Nathan seethed in outrage, as he could see Clemens digging his fingers into the boy's soft skin, and trying to choke Lucas.

Kristen's hand flew to her mouth, shocked at what she was seeing. Commander Ford, Ortiz and O'Neill were equally disturbed by the images of Lucas being man-handled.

Juliana and Nick could be heard shouting at Mycroft to let their friend go, but he just ignored their pleas.

Lucas was clearly scared and frightened, but fighting back and trying to claw at the man's hand to release the grip. It looked like he was trying to scream at Mycroft to let him go, but with the hand around his throat, his airway was restricted. He was in danger of passing out, his eyes squeezed shut as he fought to get oxygen into his lungs.

Without warning, Nick took a running dive at Mycroft, knocking him to the floor with an almighty shove. Lucas coughed harshly a number of times, collapsing weakly into the chair behind him, his hand reaching to his throat that felt like it was on fire.

Juliana was beside him, offering a glass of water, which he gratefully accepted. The coolness of the water helped briefly, but he looked back still visibly shaken, at Mycroft who was pulling himself up off the floor.

Although much shorter in height, Nick stepped in stood boldly between Clemens and in front of Lucas, determined to protect his friend if Mycroft tried to attack him again.

It was at this point that the image began to break up and the pixels losing focus and turning to noisy static. By the time the frame cleared a few moments later, the area of Node 3 that the security camera was showing had now changed. Bridger and Commander Ford now watched themselves walk through the loading dock, ready to pick up Lucas.

The teenager was saying goodbye to his friends, and everything looked to be going smooth enough, until Doctor Westphalen used her keen senses.

"He is not using his voice," Kristin pointed out plainly, "See, he is giving everyone a handshake and nodding, but not speaking very much."

"What sort of injuries might he have sustained?" O'Neill queried.

"That shirt he is wearing is probably hiding most of them. "That red one has a wide neck band on it. He probably suffered some visible bruising to the skin and was trying to keep it hidden."

"He never mentioned anything the whole time we were there," Krieg commented. On a couple of occasions, the teenager appeared to give a forced smile to a few of the kids as he prepared to leave. Now that they looked a little more closely at the footage, in hindsight he was probably grimacing from the discomfort of a sore throat.

Kristin and Bridger were thinking similarly to Ben, but didn't voice their assumptions out loud. Slightly darkened shadows under his pale blue eyes indicated that he had not slept very well after the incident.

"That is me telling Lucas that he had been granted a salary," Ford said as they watched him talk to the teenager before getting into the launch. "He seemed very happy at the time."

"I don't know how he did it, but shutting down Node 3…….. I have never heard of that being done before," Tim told the group. "That network is one of the most sophisticated on the planet and almost impossible to hack."

"Almost," Miguel said, referring to what they had seen Lucas do with the computers and how he had stopped Clemens from gaining access to the critical data.

Bridger could see himself offering Clemens passage back on the SeaQuest and thanking him for taking such good care of the teenager. At the time, they had never realized just how fake the politeness looked or felt. Mycroft was smiling and chatting to Ford, as though nothing had ever happened.

How could they have been so blind each of the crew was thinking, but in all honesty, there had been nothing out of place or unusual enough then to become alarmed at. They had no reason to suspect that something was very wrong.

The footage of the security camera ended. The crew members in the room briefly sat back, trying to take it all in. Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Lucas's voice coming from Science Lab 5.

"Lucas play," came the chirp through the vocorder, Darwin clearly visible through the aqua tube.

Lucas looked up and gave a brief smile to the mammal, getting up from the table and putting his hand on the tube's clear thick outer wall. "Hey, Darwin," he greeted the dolphin.

"Lucas play," Darwin chirped again.

"Not right now fish-face," Lucas said, the smile on his face fading, and his mood darkening, "I don't think I would be very good company today."

"Lucas sad."

"No, not sad exactly," Lucas told the animal. "Just wanting to be left alone for a while," his mind full of questions and his emotions difficult to describe at the moment.

Lucas turned away from the dolphin and tried to return to what he was doing, but he found himself fidgeting and squirming about on the chair, his thoughts constantly wandering.

Bridger had heard Lucas's private admission and couldn't help but feel a swell of emotion of his own. Especially after what they had just seen on the footage. Inwardly he was kicking himself harder than anybody else present. Nathan had always reminded Lucas that he could come to him with any problem.

Ben voiced exactly what they were all thinking, "Why didn't he tell anybody, Captain?"

The crew members sitting at the table knew that a good part of the answer to that question came from a day they vividly remembered on SeaQuest, three years ago. The day before Lucas was invited to Node 3 and one they wished many times that they could have taken back.

"Probably because he thought he couldn't confide in us back then," Ford offered, recalling the expression on the teenager's face as if it were yesterday.

Back then, those currently at the table were just beginning to get to know Lucas and find out more about him. To find themselves astonished at the teenager's natural intuition to problem solving abilities, and amazed by his knowledge for someone so young. They had acted unsure and uncertain around him at times, when mostly what he sought was friendship.

At that time, Lucas had felt vulnerable and insecure on SeaQuest. On the one hand, he was trying to impress everybody and earn their respect, but unfortunately without realizing it, they had been shutting him out and making him feel unwanted and unappreciated. The boy was trying to prove that at fourteen he was very independent, despite being the youngest crew member.

"I only found out about what happened on the Bridge that day afterwards, Krieg commented. "Lucas didn't want to talk about it at all for days."

Kristin knew she had been away for approximately two weeks from SeaQuest when Lucas went to Node 3, and hadn't returned until the vessel docked at Pearl. She had been away teaching a small group of chemists at special request.

flashback to that day:

(Brief Author Note – the words in italics are what was spoken. The rest is interpretation of what they were thinking during that time. See earlier notes at beginning of chapter.)

Miguel spoke first, "I was talking to Levin "and Levin, and I need you to record" — I guess at the time, he really wasn't doing any harm, but I didn't know he was supposed to be on the Bridge and told him to get out of the way, "Lucas!" You're, you're distracting me, alright." I turned my attention back to Joshua, and didn't see Lucas walk away.

Ford continued, "I saw him bump into Katie, just before he and I got tangled up on the stairs. He mumbled sorry and I said excuse me before he walked over to the other set of stairs."

"I asked him what he was doing. I had a problem with my station and was distracted," Tim O'Neill added, "I didn't mean to be so short with him."

"We were having continual computer glitches that day with a number of stations, like Tim said, I was talking to Ensign Cooper," "Well, if it goes down again, try rerouting the system, you never know." "There were a lot of people on the Bridge that day, and Lucas bumped into Katie again. He must have walked back to the navigation table, because that is where we crossed paths again," Ford explained further.

"I told him to stand by behind the pool. I guess he was ticked off at being pushed and shoved around and ignored by then," Ford offered in defence. "A few minutes later I saw him walking off the Bridge."

"Crocker told me later that he had chewed the kid out over some security program that wasn't finished on time," Krieg remarked. "Lucas didn't take the jibe at his computer skills too well, and told him a few choice words."

"That must have been just before I saw him walking towards me," Bridger remembered.

It had been quite a long time ago, and he hadn't thought about it very much. He couldn't exactly put a finger on when things had changed and gradually become better. But it was much different now. Lucas was not only liked and respected by the crew, but they had become his family and cared a whole lot for him. His youthful exuberance, and at times bouncing energy wore off on them all in a positive way.

Kristin had not voiced any judgment or opinion, but quickly made the assessment that Lucas must have been feeling quite isolated by the Bridge crew. It probably wasn't just this particular day, but a culmination and gradual snowballing effect that caused everything to come to a head.

"I made him come back to the Bridge that day," Bridger recalled, "When we got that priority message for some OLA/5 modules, and the request from Mycroft for Lucas to go to Node 3."

"Oh, I see, so as soon as there's a computer problem I'm back in favour. Well I'm not going and you can't make me. There are such things as child labour laws you know."

Kristin listened as Nathan continued to talk. "The next minute, he just got mad. Telling me that he wasn't going and that I couldn't make him. When I asked him where the anger was coming from, he just got more hot under the collar."

"I want to get paid. Everyone else gets paid, why shouldn't I? What's wrong with that? And I don't want an allowance, I want a salary. I'm the one that keeps everything running."

At the time, the bold statement had sounded ridiculous, but after all the effort that Lucas had put into the SeaQuest's computer system since then, the crew realized just how accurate it had been.

"Take it easy, Lucas," Bridger had tried to calm the teenager's sudden tirade, but Lucas's temper finally let go with an explosion of exasperation and frustration that had he could no longer hold back.

"No I am not going to take it easy! When do I get a chance to be heard? What's wrong with everyone listening to what I have to say for a change and asking what I want."

"I have needs too. But everyone is always too busy to care."

"The Science Department's needs are more important than my needs," Lucas shouted.

"SeaQuest's cause to explore the ocean floor is more important than my needs.

"My miserable father's greed to make World Power a global billion dollar empire has always been more important than my needs."

"Stand over there, Lucas!"

"Get out of the way, Lucas!"

"Stand in line and take a number, Lucas …… we will get to you."

"What about me?"

By the time he had finished, the boy's handsome young face was red from a mixture of anger and tears of frustration. Ford and the other crew members had been absolutely stunned by the outburst and had no idea that Lucas felt so trapped and left out. They couldn't help but feel overwhelmed about emotional torment that teenager had been putting himself through.

Bridger felt as though he had been physically struck, the anger coming from the boy had been so raw.

Lucas had run from the Bridge, the tidal wave of emotion ebbing from him. That night, he had locked his cabin door for the first time since arriving on SeaQuest. He had ignored all attempts from Ben Krieg to come out and talk, and Bridger's knocks and pounding on the door.

end of flashback:

A few moments earlier, Mycroft had been searching the various rooms of the SeaQuest, determined to talk to Lucas. It took more than 20 minutes to come down one of the corridors in the Science Department and notice the lights on in one particular room.

"What are we going to do, Nathan?" Westphalen asked. Now that they knew what had occurred, they had to work out a strategy for fixing the damage.

Kristin's simple question, brought an end to Bridger and the crew's trip down memory lane.

The Captain brought him back to the present and what he needed to do urgently, grabbing his PAL communicator.

"Give Clemens his just deserts first."

"Chief Shan, and Chief Crocker to the Ward Room, immediately!"

The security officer's didn't disappoint and responded to the Captain's page, armed and ready as they had been trained to do.

"I want Martin Clemens found immediately and arrested………….," but before he could finish his orders to the two men, the Captain's attention was drawn back to Science Lab 5.

Mycroft had come into view on the security camera, "Time to stop avoiding me, Lucas."

Lucas had not heard anyone approach the room, and jumped slightly at the sudden appearance of the man in the doorway, but managed to maintain his composure. He had been trying to avoid a meeting just such as this, but he wasn't about to let the man intimidate him. He wasn't fourteen anymore.

The crew in the Ward Room realized that the situation had just become a little more precarious. Bridger hadn't factored that Clemens would deliberately go looking for Lucas. Earlier in the day the man had seemed resigned to the fact that the teenager wanted nothing to do with him.

That assumption had changed dramatically now, and Science Lab 5 was at the rear of the boat, and a good distance from the crew and security team were standing now.

Shan and Crocker waited to seek orders from Bridger about how he wanted them to proceed now. They were aware that the lab had two doorways, the first where Mycroft was standing, and a second one that adjoined onto Science Lab 4 behind the teenager.

"Captain, we should wait until Clemens leaves before arresting him," Ford said as they watched the video screen. "Defuse the situation and not provoke him," knowing that Bridger would find it difficult to not do anything.

Nathan had heard the Commander's suggestion, and knew that Jonathan used a cool head when it came to dealing with situations such as this. At the same time, he also knew that they didn't want to give any reason for Clemens to do something rash and put Lucas in danger, if he was confronted.

"Two minutes, and no more, Jonathan," Bridger agreed reluctantly. "And then I want him taken to the Brig."

Ford nodded at the Captain's conditions, telling the security team to remain where they were until Clemens left the room. "Be ready to go,"

Kristin stood up and joined the Captain as the group of eight people watched the video screen. She too was concerned for the boy's safety, but didn't want to see Lucas put at any risk.

Krieg, Tim and Miguel remained seated for now, but alert and ready to help the security team if the need arose.

"What makes you think I am avoiding you?" The teenager's voice was calm as he looked up from his work, closing the notebook and looking defiantly back at Clemens.

"You left lunch in an awful hurry today," Clemens taunted, taking a few more paces into the room.

The large narrow work bench stood as a barrier between Mycroft and the teenager as Lucas stood up from his chair and instinctively took a few paces backwards.

"I don't usually like to eat in the company of a killer." Lucas retorted with a smug expression at the scowl on the man's face. He knew Mycroft objected strongly to that label.

"I told you before, I am not like that! That was a mistake in my past."

"And was I supposed to be one of your mistakes too?" Lucas spat bitterly.

"No, Lucas, I never meant to do that to you. I just lost control that day on Node 3. I haven't laid a hand on anybody since then."

"Oh that's nice to know," Lucas's voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sorry, but I haven't forgotten that you almost choked me that day." He was seventeen now, quite a bit taller, but determined to face up to the man if that is what he wanted.

"You have every right to be angry at me, Lucas." Clemens sat on a stool at the work bench.

The teenager remained standing on the opposite side, wanting to find out why the man was here now, making a poor effort at admitting his costly mistake.

"Where did you disappear to?"

Mycroft was prepared to answer the boy's questions with a limited amount of truth, "Mostly just here and there, hiding away for two years.

"What about for the last year?"

"I have been helping a new group of people to help save themselves against greed and corruption."

"Uh-huh," Lucas scoffed, "Where have I heard that before?"

Clemens found himself changing the subject slightly, and wanting to ask a different set of questions. He was hoping that the kid would relax enough to hear out his flimsy offer.

"Why didn't you ever tell anyone what happened? Here I was thinking that any day now, the mighty Captain Bridger would be beating down my door and tearing me to pieces for what I did. For almost two years, I was always looking over my shoulder."

The crew in the Ward Room, held their breath, thinking that the teenager would clam up about the whole incident like he had with them. They were a little surprised at how forthcoming Lucas was with answering the question.

"How do you know that I didn't?"

"Because if you had, then I would have expected to wake up this morning in the Brig and in handcuffs," Mycroft answered with a slight sense of satisfaction at catching the boy off-guard.

Lucas sensed that the look on his face said it all. Mycroft had gotten to know him a little more at Node 3 than he was willing to admit. He had carrying a fair amount of emotional baggage at the time.

"When we got back here from Node 3, there were a lot of other things happening. Nobody asked any questions, so I figured they didn't need to know," he replied honestly. "I had a sore throat for a few days, and the bruises finally faded after about a week and a half."

Bridger was appalled to hear Lucas's justification for not telling them. The boy must have been in some pain. Yes they had been busy like the teenager revealed to Clemens, but never too busy that he should have thought himself unimportant.

"It's such a waste that you are here, Lucas. You have the most incredible mind, and its staggering that they don't see or comprehend that enough. And if they do, then they certainly don't allow you to reach the full potential that you should."

"They take care of me, things are a little better than they were three years ago," Lucas told him, not wanting to divulge just how close he had come to some members of the crew, and Bridger.

"Well I am glad to hear that. I know you have been working on some pretty amazing new projects lately."

This statement came as a complete shock to Lucas, thinking that most of his work was classified. Hell some of it he hadn't even told the Captain about yet.

Mycroft saw the indignant look and resentment, "Lucas, you forget, I am a hacker. It's what we do. There's nothing more exciting."

"That doesn't give you the right to spy on me!"

Silently, Bridger hoped that he wouldn't receive a similar look from Lucas about the file that he had accessed without permission first.

"Don't worry, I haven't been telling tales out of school or been able to see the more complex programming and design ideas that you have been working on. You are too good at keeping your secrets wrapped tightly to find out anymore than that."

"What are you doing here on SeaQuest?"

In the Ward Room, the security team and Bridger's crew listened and remained vigilant, having little choice than to watch the exchange for more than two minutes.

"Rescued by your Captain actually, my mini-sub was damaged when I tried to climb a reef. I can't afford to be here much longer, I am needed back there."

"Where is this group?"

"Andromeda."

"Andromeda! We just came back from there yesterday before we spotted your sub."

"You have been there then," Mycroft said in surprise, silently thinking that the offer to the boy might just work more in his favour now.

"Yes, but I was glad to get out of there."

"Did you get an eyeful of the technology that they have developed and using over there."

"Yes and it some of the most advanced I have ever seen. Somehow they have it all hooked into one giant main frame," Lucas responded, falling into his natural role as Chief Computer Analyst. He couldn't deny the spark of excitement when he first saw that room. "They got all high and mighty over there when I asked them about the maintenance for a facility like that."

"I suspect they would have. Cavanagh secretly rules that community with an iron fist, Lucas. Anybody that speaks up or tries to challenge the Council is silenced. He shakes their hand in public and makes all sorts of outlandish promises, but then behind closed doors he uses his influence to take their homes, families and their businesses. That computer system is how he makes sure they are doing what he tells them," Mycroft explained.

"That is why I am helping this group of people. We don't have much to work with, but without help, these people don't have much of a future to look forward to," he added, hoping that his description would appeal to Lucas's sensitive nature.

"How did you get in, I thought it was by invitation only?"

"That's not important right now, but what I have to tell you now is."

Lucas looked at the man skeptically and with suspicion.

"I want you to come back with me, Lucas." Mycroft had idly picked up a black long handled flashlight that had been laying on the work bench nearby. He was fiddling with the on/off switch as he spoke.

"You have got to be kidding me!" the teenager uttered in disbelief. "You really must have rocks in your head."

Lucas hadn't heard the outraged shouts of 'No' coming from the Ward Room at exactly the same time. Bridger could scarcely believe that Mycroft had the gall to ask for any help from the teenager after attacking him.

"I need your help, Lucas. You are probably the only other one apart from me that is capable of hacking into that mainframe and helping those people."

"Here you are again," Lucas shouted, his temper beginning to flair at the man's insatiable attitude for getting involved where he shouldn't be. 'Don't you learn too good or something? This is how you were back on Node 3. Thinking you had the magic touch to save the world, when it didn't need rescuing in the first place."

Clemens was becoming more animated as he spoke, "It's unfair how these people are being treated, Lucas. Call it Hacker's pride or whatever you want but maybe that is why I snapped like I did back then. Afraid to admit for the first time that I wasn't the best anymore after seeing your skills."

"The whole world is unfair, Mycroft. I know, I have been there, and it sucks sometimes. But you can't just meddle with other people's lives." The teenager ignored any comments about his hacking abilities at Node 3 being likened to some sort of twisted competition to see who was the best.

Clemens got off the stool now, noting that the teenager was walking around the work bench. Somehow he had to convince the teenager that what he was doing was justified. He still held the flash light in his hand.

Lucas was still annoyed and didn't want to continue any discussion with Mycroft about the affects of making changes on a huge scale that only benefited a select few. He was beginning to make his way to the doorway where Mycroft had come in.

"Get ready to move now," Ford told the security team, thinking they could apprehend Mycroft without incident if they were quick enough. "Lucas should be out of that room in a minute"

Bridger and the others certainly didn't need any further encouragement and headed out the door of the Ward Room, leaving the surveillance video running on the screen.

"Crocker, when you get there, you and Shan cover that first door, we will cut off the other one," Krieg cautioned as they ran along the corridor. A few more turns and they would have to descend two flights of stairs and head down another corridor to reach Science Lab 5.

Mycroft's demeanor had changed, annoyed that he had not been able to sway the teenager.

Lucas was now standing beneath the doorway, Clemens had made a grab at the boy's arm, "Come back with me, Lucas," he asked on final last time.

"Do I really look that stupid to you?" Lucas asked incredulously, staring directly back at him.

It was right at that moment, seeing the defiant blue eyes, realizing that the boy had lost respect for him a long time ago. He wasn't going to be able to convince Lucas to come back with him to Andromeda.

"No!" Lucas yelled pulling free of the man's grip. "You really haven't changed have you," he added with disgust."

Mycroft had forgotten all about the flash light being in his hand, but had felt a surge of anger run through him at the boy's casual dismissal and rebellious attitude.

Lucas was about to take a step out into the corridor away from the man, but glanced back briefly in time to feel something strike him hard on his left temple. He gave a small cry of pain and collapsed to the floor unconscious.

For a brief moment, Mycroft panicked at the boy lying in an untidy heap on the floor at his feet, a small trickle of blood running down the side of Lucas's face. He had not meant to strike the boy at all, and certainly not hit him with any object.

That didn't help matters now though, and Clemens knew he had to act fast. He needed to get off SeaQuest and fast. It wouldn't take long for any of the crew or Bridger to find out what he had done. Stealing one of the launches was the best solution, but perhaps there was merit to his actions he told himself, looking down at the injured teenager.

Mycroft had to find a hiding place for Lucas until he could secure the launch without Bridger interfering. An idea suddenly came to him …………………

to be continued ……………..

Author Notes:

Sorry – but the chapter was getting too long – and there was a fair bit more to go yet. I have no intentions of just having Mycroft dump Lucas in a launch – that would be too simple – and not like me at all. LOL

Chapter 4 is well on the way to being completed – will be updated very soon.

Are you liking this ??? Lots and lots of nice little "poor little Lucas" moments in the next chapter – which is why I wanted to start a new one. Have decided not to have him carted off unconscious – that is too easy – need some more drama involving the rest of the crew as well.

Please keep reading.

On other stories – I will keep readers informed as best I can about which stories will be updated next on my profile page. I also intend to rewrite and fix up a few of the older finished stories and update those that are incomplete – these will also be noted there in case you are wanting to keep an eye out.

Some of my other stories need spelling fixed and grammar, I cringe at my earlier writing attempts sometimes. But there will also be some adding and deleting of the story content – so please feel free to read any of those to see what changes I have made.

I still have lots of ideas coming some of which I have written down on my profile page, but others are still being worked out. I really want to bring back people like Stark and especially Rubin Zeller, but have yet to work the right story around them.

Okay Okay, I am going back to write – I know I didn't do much to Lucas in this chapter either.

JULES