Chapter 43

Nathan didn't like it. Hitchcock wouldn't ask the Chief Psychologist to be present for good news. Yes, he'd told Wendy that Lucas was missing because she'd gotten psychic impressions off him when he'd been trapped in that underground cavern. He'd hoped Wendy could connect with him again. But Hitchcock wouldn't know that. She probably had such bad news, she figured he'd fall apart when he heard. And jogging toward the ward room, Nathan wasn't convinced she would be wrong. Although, he took some comfort in knowing Katherine Hitchcock well enough to feel certain she wouldn't give him the one kind of news he dreaded most over vid-link. If at all possible, she would have flown her jet copter out and brought that news in person.

Kristin and Wendy were already there when he arrived. He didn't try to analyze how much of his breathlessness could be attributed to worry and how much to traveling from two decks down and almost the full length forward as fast as he could safely traverse it. His panting didn't go unnoticed by the doctors.

"Where were you?" Kristin asked.

"Stern engineering on A-deck."

"Is the mag-lev down again?"

"Didn't wait long enough to find out." The mag-lev was only faster when you didn't have to wait to board it. In that remote section, he knew he could beat the overall time by running. He looked up at the screen. Hitchcock and Krieg stood side-by-side and he didn't like the looks on either of their faces. A small icon in the lower portion of the screen indicated that the bridge was still connected. "I'm here, O'Neill."

Hitchcock spoke from the screen, "I asked him to listen in, Captain. Lucas addresses him personally on the recording. He has a right to hear."

Nathan nodded. "Recording, you say? Did you speak to him?"

"No, sir. We were filing a missing persons report when the message was left on our machine, but it doesn't look like it was done live anyway."

"All right. Let's see it."

Krieg pressed a button and he and Hitchcock disappeared. The screen went black long enough that Nathan thought Krieg had hit the wrong button and disconnected them. He was just about to ask O'Neill to call them back when Lucas's image filled the screen. At least it was some sick prankster's idea of Lucas's image. The Lucas Wolenczak he knew did not dress like that, or rather, undress like that. He'd shared quarters with Lucas enough to know that he wore more than that to bed. He liked his clothes on the baggier side and he wore boxers, not bikini briefs. Then Lucas started talking. He could tell immediately that the words were bogus, but he tried to listen intently to catch whatever clues Lucas might have left.

Unlike the recording of Piccolo that the Amazonian dictator had given them, Lucas, while being totally false with several key words, seemed very sincere and earnest in his tone, like he knew that they couldn't rescue him this time. His final 'goodbye' made Nathan's eyes mist up. The genius's ridiculous image faded from the screen and scanned papers with his signature popped up next. When the first page blinked into another, Kristin blurted out, "'Nathan and Kristin'? He won't call me Kristin even in private! Has he ever called you 'Nathan'?"

Too choked up to speak yet, Nathan just shook his head.

Wendy put a comforting arm around Kristin's shoulders. Her voice was gentle and compassionate when she soothed, "That was his way of telling you that this wasn't his choice."

"But he sounded like he really meant it. Goodbye, I mean." Kristin wasn't crying, but her voice wavered with emotion.

"He knows Juno is a sovereign colony and outside of UEO jurisdiction," Nathan said. "He wanted us to know he didn't choose this, but he doesn't expect to be rescued either."

Wendy added, "And he doesn't want anyone to blame themselves or wonder what happened to him."

Like I did with Robert. The thought bowled him over. Lucas might have mentioned other names and rattled off meaningless blather, but Nathan knew that this recording had been for him, and probably him alone. The rest had just been gravy.

Hitchcock spoke and he saw her image on the screen again. "Ben and I are going to Juno, sir. I'm going to New York to enlist the aid of an old friend who owes me a favor. She used to be a professional Domme."

"Sir, may I—" O'Neill's voice started.

Nathan was already a step ahead. "Print those documents and report to the ward room, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir." The bridge icon went dark.

"Who is Lieutenant Jarvis?" Wendy asked.

Nathan chuckled. "It's a Virtual CAD program he was working with. He wasn't having any problems with it, was he?" He looked up at the vid-link screen.

"No," Hitchcock said. "He took to it like a pet and learned it faster than any of the programmers said he would. He taught me how to use it, even though he would have loved to keep playing with it himself. He'd never say Jarvis was 'an ass' or that Jarvis could order him around. That was all a ruse."

"Just like our names, and the uniform and haircut. Deliberate clues no one else would suspect," Nathan said.

"And now he's the pet," Kristin muttered darkly.

Wendy removed her arm from Kristin's shoulder, backed off a little, and swallowed hard. When she spoke, she was attacking the problem on the same level as Kristin, holding nothing back to be 'sensitive'. "Actually, let's hope he is a pet. The leaders of Juno don't hesitate to come right out and call men 'slaves'… or to treat them like it."

Nathan cleared his throat. "I don't like either label, Doctor. Beauregard called us all pets, if you recall, and that wasn't exactly a picnic."

Wendy nodded. "Of course. You're right. But the fact of the matter is that they do consider men to be no more than property. They won't care whether Lucas was coerced to make that tape or not. That's probably why they let him make it. They know you can't do anything."

"Like hell I can't."

"Go ahead and try diplomacy, sir," Hitchcock said. "They'll be expecting it and it's going to be a while before Ben and I can get there. Besides clothes and my consultant, I have to buy a luxury sub."

"You're coming to seaQuest first, right, Commander?"

"Are you calling me to active duty, sir?" She looked chagrined.

"If I did, I'd have to order you not to go, because the UEO can't do this. However, that's not my intention. I'm asking as your friend… Katie. You need backup and I intend to give it to you, whether the UEO likes it or not." He'd never been as free with calling her by her first name as other females on board, not because he didn't feel as close, but because he knew how hard she fought to maintain her military command status. Kristin and Wendy weren't military. They didn't understand how women officers couldn't afford to relax if they wanted to maintain respect. And it was because he knew how good Katie was at gaining respect that he knew she was the perfect candidate for this operation. Ben, on the other hand… well, at least he knew that Ben would protect her at all costs and Ben had Lucas's welfare in mind. Besides, he had no way to stop Ben even if he wanted to.

"Of course, sir, I'll make a stop at seaQuest."

O'Neill rapped once on the hatch before entering. He carried the documents and he was panting some, but not as badly as Nathan had been when he arrived. He handed over the papers and then blurted out breathlessly, "Let me go in with them."

Nathan suppressed a smile. This was part of the support he wanted to offer, but he couldn't order anyone to do this, especially not a man. "From what I hear, they wouldn't even accept an emissary from the UEO, Lieutenant, and certainly not one of your gender." He turned to the screen. "Mr. Krieg, what kind of cover are you planning to use?" He was pretty sure he knew, but it would be better for Tim to hear it directly.

Ben cringed. "I'm signing the same papers as Lucas did. I'm going as Katie's property."

"And you're well aware that if anything happens to her, say she's caught and imprisoned, that they confiscate a prisoner's property and auction it all off. You'd go to the highest bidder."

He straightened. "Yes, sir. I'm aware. But it's a risk I'm willing to take for Lucas."

"I'll sign the papers too," Tim said.

"Tim, I can't be responsible for you," Katie said from the screen.

"I don't expect you to be, Commander. You're a classy rich lady and you should have at least two uh... properties, but if you're only going to take one, I think it should be me." Tim looked at Nathan for permission to tell her the secret.

Ben shook his head. "No way, Tim. I'm a lot more expendable than you are."

"No one is expendable, gentlemen," Nathan said diplomatically. "But Tim does have something unique to offer. It's something we've kept out of official records. After he was hit with a Genome Wave Energy zapper six months ago, he's had the ability to send messages telepathically to strong Receivers, like Dr. Smith."

Tim nodded. "I can get word to the outside without any kind of device. They can't confiscate anything and they can't detect it."

Katie looked dumbfounded. "That's how you called for help after the Fifi, wasn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And you let me think Wendy did it all!" She was glaring at Nathan now.

"That's what you get for leaving the Navy," he said with a wry grin. "Welcome back. I'd feel a whole lot better if you took our secret weapon in, but this is your private operation and it's up to you."

"I'll take him," Kristin said as she stood. "Katie, tell your friend I wear size ten and get me something suitable."

Nathan felt the blood leave his face. "Kristin, I don't th—"

She shook her finger at her husband. "Don't you dare tell me I'm too old for this, Nathan. I can pull this off and you know it."

He raised both hands. "Who said anything about age?" He hated to admit it, but she was right. That deep-seated Westphalen pertinacity was exactly what was called for. He was only sorry he couldn't go with her. She could pull this off, but Nathan didn't think he could.

"No one," Kristin admitted. "I'm just as safe as Katie is. It's Tim and Ben that'll be in danger. How big is Juno, anyway?"

"Big enough that you'll need me too," Wendy said, throwing her own hat in the ring.

"Now wait a minute, Doctor," Nathan countered. "We need you here to Receive or we lose the advantage of sending in a Transmitter."

"Having a me on the inside is more advantageous because Mary can connect us all."

"I don't want to keep asking poor Mary to help us."

Wendy shot Tim an odd look. Tim smiled sheepishly at her, then turned to face Nathan. "She's already in on it, sir. You said it wasn't military, so I didn't think there was any harm in telling her. Captain, she's my fiancée. I'd be talking to her from the inside anyway."

"Fiancée?" So much about Tim's demeanor since drydock suddenly made sense. How could he have missed it?

"Yes, sir. We got engaged in San Diego."

"Congratulations," Kristin gushed. She took a step closer and patted his shoulder. "She's a lucky girl."

"Yes, congratulations," Nathan said, taking his hand for a quick shake. Ben and Katie echoed their congratulations from the vid-link. Nathan was relieved he wasn't the last to hear about this. It seemed only Wendy had known. "All right, then Mary is family and I don't feel so badly taking advantage of her help. But I'm not sure I want both of my physicians leaving the boat at the same time when this mission is going to be unofficial."

"We've been circling the Atlantic for weeks now," Kristin said in a somewhat exasperated tone. "The worst we've had are a few sprained ankles from the fitness center, where everyone is going to work out their frustrations over being so bored! Joshua can handle it."

Just before Lucas disappeared, Nathan had been planning to ask Noyce to let someone else have the Deinosuchus patrol, but now he wanted it. He could loiter around the Agulhas Plateau just south of Africa. That would put seaQuest within four hours of the Mozambique Basin, where Juno Colony was, while keeping up appearances.

"What you probably need is more men," O'Neill said quietly.

Nathan shook his head. "I can't ask anyone to sign away all their rights."

"I'm not the only person who cares about Lucas, sir. Will and Miguel will volunteer; I'm sure of it. Probably Piccolo too."

"If Piccolo wants to go, and someone can explain to him what these documents mean, I'll give him leave, and Shan too. But I can't spare Ortiz and still have an excuse to keep seaQuest close. We have to at least pretend to be doing recon on prehistoric crocs." He thought for a moment. "I could spare Brody and Ford as well, but I don't want anyone pressuring them. The stakes are too high and I have no idea what the UEO might do, even if you're successful."

"What are they going to do that's any worse than becoming property?" Krieg said with a derisive snort. "They ought to be grateful we're rescuing one of their brightest minds. This Gianna Valentino woman who owns Lucas right now, apparently has no idea who he is or what he knows. If she ever finds out, do you realize what one of our enemies might pay to get their hands on him? Sherman Oil is prepared to pay whatever it takes, but they damned-well better appreciate it." Katie nodded her assent to Ben's declaration about using her inheritance.

"Take it out of Bridger Hitchcock SeaDesigns if you have to," Nathan said. He didn't let the tiniest note of sadness enter his tone. Krieg was right about Lucas being sold on the world market to power-hungry leaders with no conscience. If Bourne got ahold of him, there was no telling how much faster he might advance that infernal Macronesian Alliance scheme of his. Didn't Major Allen say that most of the Northern Pacific colonies ended up as slave labor camps? Buying Lucas as a slave sounded right up his alley.

Katie took a deep breath. "That's a last resort, but understood. If there's nothing else right now, we'll be flying out within the hour. We'll call you again when we leave New York."

"I'll get you an update on volunteers as soon as possible, but count in Kristin, Wendy, and Tim for now."

"Yes, sir. My friend Helga will need guest quarters on seaQuest. She'll come and coach us all, but I won't ask her to go in with us. She doesn't know Lucas and the favor she owes me isn't that big."

"We'll give her the best we have. And tell her we'll owe her a favor after this."

"Thank you, Captain."

Hitchcock and Krieg irised out. He looked at the two doctors and just shook his head.

"What?" Wendy asked.

"That colony doesn't stand a chance with you three women going in there. I don't care what you do as long as I don't have to explain it."

"I tell you one thing," Kristin said. "They are not going to know what hit them when we're done."

"I don't doubt it for a minute." He turned to O'Neill. "Have Shan, Piccolo, Ford, and Brody report to me here. Let's see who's willing to go with you."

"Aye, sir." He turned to the intercom and made the announcement.

Nathan could have done it himself, but it sounded more routine coming from O'Neill. Assuming they got Lucas back, the kid surely wouldn't want the whole boat to know where he'd been and what he'd been wearing, or rather what he hadn't been wearing. It gave Nathan serious chills just to think about what he looked like on that recording.

The petty officer, ensign, lieutenant, and commander were shown the recording and allowed to read the documents. Wendy explained the documents to Piccolo, just in case he missed something. Then he told them about Hitchcock's private rescue plan. All four of them volunteered immediately.

"You'd have to sign your very life over to one of the women," Nathan said warningly. Ford and Shan probably understood without his help, but Brody and Piccolo probably didn't.

Piccolo waggled his brows. "You're not gonna court martial me for ogling three hot babes in leather, I hope."

Nathan couldn't help but smile. He had to have a sense of humor about this, or they'd all be too depressed. He waved an index finger at the petty officer. "One of those hot babes is my wife, Piccolo. You sign those papers and she'll have the right to do more than just court martial you." He knew neither Kristin, Wendy, nor Katie would ever beat Piccolo, but it felt really good to imply that they might. Piccolo needed to understand the gravity of the situation and besides, it was too funny to watch his eyes bug out.

After the eye bulging, he gulped. "I'm still in." He winked at Wendy. "Whip me, beat me, make me write bad checks. I'm all yours."

"I'm in too," Brody said.

"Are you sure, Lieutenant? You can have some time to think about it. Call your wife, maybe?"

"Hey, I make my own decisions. At least until I sign that paper. Valerie knows that I go on a lot of dangerous missions. I told her I wasn't going to change before I married her."

"And will she feel the same if she knows this was a completely optional mission that you undertook without orders? You won't be on duty; you'll be on leave."

Wendy took up the cause. "And if you get trapped there, the UEO won't lift a finger to help you. What do you think she should tell your little boy then?"

Brody raised his hands. "Okay, okay. I'll talk to her first. But only so she understands why I'm doing this."

"Good idea."

Shan and Ford said, "I'm in too," in concert, as if they'd rehearsed it that way. The look on both of their faces was exactly like how they'd looked when everyone else was abandoning the first seaQuest and they refused. Calm, yet resolute.

"This could be interpreted as 'conduct unbefitting an officer'," Nathan warned solemnly.

Shan chuckled. "I haven't been an officer long enough to care. Let them take it away."

He directed his gaze to Ford. Jonathan had worked very hard for his rank. There were probably very few things in his life that he valued more. Ford set his jaw and answered, "It's more 'unbefitting' to let someone get away with selling my friend into slavery. If they can't see that, then there's no point in serving in the Navy at all."

Nathan didn't think he could have been any more proud than he was at that moment. "All right. Brody, you can get back to me after you've talked to you wife. All of you get some sleep. It'll be a while before Hitchcock gets here. She's on the other side of the planet and she needs to buy a private sub and go shopping for costumes."

Kristin sidled up to Wendy and spoke with an air of fake conspiracy. "Three women and six men. That means we get two pets each. Should we mud-wrestle to see who gets first pick?"

"Naw," Wendy answered in the same spirit. "I wouldn't want to soil my new skin-tight leather pants. Let's draw straws instead."

The two doctors laughed while the five male volunteers all looked like they got a sudden case of the chills. On second thought, maybe it wasn't so bad Nathan couldn't go on this mission after all.