CHAPTER 4

by JULES

The Security team and Bridger's party had run from the Ward Room towards the Science Department with all haste. As they climbed the last set of stairs, Chief Shan gestured with his hand that they should make a quieter approach into the last corridor. They didn't want to give Clemens any forewarning before he was arrested.

Shan and Crocker split from the main group, intending to take the first door into the laboratory. Krieg and the others made their way to the second door.

A curt nod from Crocker that they were in position, and the two groups burst through both door simultaneously, the Security Team with weapons in their hands, set to stun only.

All were stunned when before them stood and empty room.

"Where did he go to, Cap?" Crocker asked Bridger, scratching his head a little.

"He must have left the room while we were getting here," Ben Krieg replied before Nathan had the chance.

"He couldn't have just vanished, he must have taken one of the other corridors," Commander Ford suggested.

Bridger was looking around the room, surprised as much as everybody else that Clemens wasn't anywhere in plain sight. But then he spotted something he thought peculiar, "Lucas left his notebook behind," he commented, walking

around the long work bench and picking up the small book they had seen the teenager writing in a short time ago.

Kristin had thought it odd too and made a remark to that affect, "Not like him to go leaving his work lying about."

"Let's focus on Clemens for a minute," Ford said, redirecting the conversation. "We can start searching for him, but Captain, shouldn't we be taking other precautions?"

Bridger could hear the "by the manual" tone in Ford's voice, and recognized that they had a situation that needed addressing. He was worried about Lucas, but also mindful that there were many other crew members aboard.

"Contact Commander Hitchcock on the Bridger, Commander. Stage 1 precautions at this stage."

Ford nodded and pulled out his PAL communicator, "Katie, this is Ford, I need you to lock down the Bridge immediately."

"Aye, Commander," Katie responded, knowing what her professional responsibilities were. "What is the problem, Sir?"

"Clemens is to be arrested and taken to the Brig, but he slipped away on us. Do what you have to Hitchcock, I will keep you informed. Do not allow any access to the Bridge until you received further instructions from either myself or the Captain."

"Aye, Sir," Hitchcock obeyed. "Carrying out lock down of Bridge, all stations secure, and communication lines suspended." A short bell rang and then a siren could be heard through the communicator signaling that Bridge doors were being sealed and the correct precautions had been put in place.

"Commander, lets all get to Deck C where the Moon Pool is. We can use the schematic of the SeaQuest there to co-ordinate our efforts and split into groups to find Clemens faster," Bridger ordered.

When they had left the Ward Room, they all had assumed that Lucas had gone back to his own cabin, or another part of the boat. They thought they had seen the teenager leaving the room on the surveillance camera.

They were unaware of the pair of brown eyes watching them as they made their new plan. Mycroft knew that the only opportunity he was going get just presented itself. He had already been concerned about how to get past Bridger and his men.

Clemens waited until he could hear footsteps no longer, and slid back the grate panel in the floor. He knew he had to be careful not to be found. At the moment, the small area offered the perfect place to hide the Lucas until he could come back for him.

Mycroft looked down with a slight worried crease on his forehead. The boy was still unconscious and had only made an audible moan when dragged to this hiding place. His colour was good, but not great. Surely he would so some improved signs of waking up when he returned from loading the supplies on the launch.

"Lucas, can you hear me?" Clemens asked, tapping the young man's face trying to evoke a response. "Lucas?" but the teenager laid still.

Clemens climbed out, putting the panel back in place. He quickly located a computer terminal in Science Lab 5, and began looking at information on the security features of the SeaQuest.

Mycroft crept along the corridors, watchful for any of Bridger's crew who might spot him. He had only taken a few minutes to find out what he needed from the computer. He approached from the corridor leading from the MagLev to the Bridge.

Bridger was pointing to a large interior map of SeaQuest and giving his instructions for the search. "Jonathan, you take 2 men, and cover this area of the boat, from the Bridge back to the launch bay."

"Kristin, you take Ben and Miguel and work back from the Science Department to the crew quarters. Don't leave any rooms unchecked."

From his vantage point, Mycroft could see that the area was divided. On the far side, there was a large tank fill with water. Doctor Westphalen had told him that it was called the Moon Pool and where Bridger's pet dolphin frequented.

Along wall before the Moon Pool, was a communication station designed to monitor and manage the arrival and departure of launches, sea crabs and various other transport belonging to the SeaQuest. This station would largely involved in his quest to gain a launch and take it back to Andromeda.

A small staircase was located near to the pool, leading down to a much larger decked where Bridger and his men were gathered formulating a search for him.

Clemens knew that he had to make his move now.

Chief Shan thought he had heard a noise, and turned in that direction, and gasped as he saw the figure of Martin Clemens sneaking across the decking near the Moon Pool, "Stop right there!" he demanded.

Bridger and the others had all turned at the sound of Shan's voice, and were equally surprised to see Mycroft.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Before any of the Security Team could react, Clemens reached a central column and took a small remote control panel from its sleeve. He pressed a series of buttons on the control and watched as a series of electrically charged beams erupted into shield.

Commander Ford and the Security Team jumped back a little, knowing that the shield was highly dangerous to touch. It was a security measure that the SeaQuest had installed right at the beginning. Its purpose was to prevent a hostile force gain access to the vessel through the launch bay doors.

If they did manage to make it into the SeaQuest this barrier was designed to stop them from getting any further and restrict their ability to make any more progress into other more sensitive areas such as the Bridge.

Bridger was also aware of its purpose, physically putting his hand on Kristin, just in case. The screen extended across half of the Moon Pool and before the small staircase. "Turn it off."

Mycroft was confident that he had put measures in place that would now allow him to move freely across the upper part of the deck without being hampered by the Security Team or crew.

Crocker and Shan were talking with Ford trying to work out if there was away around the shield or at least get access to the control to switch it off.

"I wouldn't fire those weapons at the shield, Captain. I believe it gives out a nasty shock, and I wouldn't want to be responsible for any of your team getting hurt," Clemens spoke.

"The Bridge is locked down, Sir, and Katie won't let in him there, but there is no telling what else he has in mind. The security screen cannot be switched off from the Bridge. There is a manual over-ride system, but its managed by that communications station up there where he is standing," Ford explained to the Captain.

"What is it you want, Clemens?" Bridger questioned, maintaining a safe distance behind the beams, but trying to make eye contact with the man. He wanted to confront the man and tear him limb from limb for what he had done to Lucas, but at the moment had to determine the man's current objectives and what that meant for the SeaQuest.

"I never meant for it to turn out like this, Captain," Mycroft answered whilst switching on the communications station. He knew he had to work fast. "I have to get back to my rebel group and help them, and I am afraid I cannot wait any longer until my mini-sub is repaired."

"You can't go back to Andromeda," Krieg shouted, trying to think of a way to stall the man.

Mycroft stopped what he was doing and looked at the Lieutenant, for a brief moment wondering how on earth they had found out that the rebels were on Andromeda. Then the answer hit him, as he realised that somehow the SeaQuest crew had overheard the conversation he had with Lucas.

"Yes, that's right Clemens, we already know what you did on NODE 3," Ford accused.

Clemens frowned a little, recalling the conversation that had taken place, but nowhere had there been any mention of the specific details of NODE 3.

"There are surveillance cameras in every part of the SeaQuest, Martin," Bridger remarked. "Just like there were at the NODE 3 base."

"We also saw what else you did to Lucas," Kristin spoke, barely keeping her temper in check. "How could a grown man like you attack and choke an innocent boy?" she demanded to know.

Mycroft figured that Bridger must not have seen what else he had done to the teenager a short time ago, but that would change soon enough. He would have to check on the youth shortly anyway, and perhaps the best idea for now was to bring him out here.

"Give yourself up now, before this gets out of hand," Ford motioned, trying to get the man to see reason.

"Sorry, but I cannot do that. Too many people are relying on me to get back there. I am just going to borrow one of your launches for a short time. I am going to load it up with some emergency supplies from your store, and make my way back there."

"Stealing a launch isn't going to help, its only going to make it worse," Bridger told him plainly.

Mycroft turned his attentions back to the communications station, no wanting to listen to any of the pros and cons of his actions. What was done now could not be undone, and that included striking Lucas.

"He is trying to access a secured link outside of SeaQuest," Ford informed the group, "He doesn't seem to have any trouble negotiating the controls or password access that is mandatory."

"Being as good a hacker as he is, Commander, I doubt it will cause him too much trouble at all," Bridger responded.

Clemens had a PAL communicator in his possession and now placed it on the edge of the Moon Pool. "Company Leader, this is Rogue 2, do you copy."

All that could be heard on the other side was static. Clemens left the link open, knowing that it might take a bit more time for them to be able to contact him.

"I am going to start gathering those emergency supplies and loading them into a launch," Mycroft stated, "But first I have to make a stop at the Brig."

"Yeah, and throw yourself in there while you are there," Krieg responded sarcastically.

Mycroft walked away from C Deck completely unrestricted, down a corridor, ignoring the Lieutenant's snide remarks.

Clemens made his way to the Brig, his sole purpose, to grab a pair of handcuffs. He needed to move Lucas to the Deck near the launch and then worry about the supplies.

Another few flights of stairs and he neared the spot where he had left the vulnerable and injured teenager. Pulling back the grated panel, he could see the young man had barely moved since he had left, but there were now sounds that he was waking.

Clemens jumped down into the floor place, lifting the boy into a sitting position so that he could lift him out of the crawl space more easily. The movement helped to bring Lucas around a little more and he gave a low groan from the pain in his head.

Lucas attempted to lift is hands towards the area that was throbbing the most, but his limbs felt heavy and uncoordinated. He tried to open his eyes, but even that seemed like quite a challenge at present. His mind was foggy.

The teenager was about to reach for his head again, when Mycroft seized his wrist and placed the first cuff. Lucas did manage to open his eyes, feeling something pulling on his arm and sensing somebody near him. As his sight focused on what was going on, he gave a gasp of surprise, only to have feel another pull on his other wrist.

"What the….," Lucas said his brain finally made sense of what was happening to him. "What are you doing," he tried to yell, but his head was spinning badly and the pain flared again.

To his dismay, he could feel trembling in the Lucas's limbs, probably still as a result of the blow to he head. Before the boy could protest any further about his confinement, Mycroft pulled the teenager into a standing position.

Lucas weakly tried to fight off Mycroft, but uttered a guttural groan as he was hoisted over the man's shoulder and pushed upwards and over the lip of the hole, rolling onto his side. Clemens scrambled up behind him and slid the mesh panel back over their hiding place.

Lucas hadn't moved or tried to get up, he was too busying trying to deal with the spinning sensation that was quickly engulfing him. He felt someone tugging at his arms, pulling him to his feet, but he couldn't resist.

Mycroft pulled the teenager into a standing position once more, a little worried about the grey look on the kid's face. It looked as though he might pass out again at any moment. There was a fresh trickle of blood from the head wound.

Clemens grabbed the boy by his handcuffed wrists and began forcing him to walk back towards the launch bay and where the SeaQuest crew were.

"Let me………Let me…….," but the final word wouldn't come out. His mouth was dry and his stomach was nauseous. The pain in his head was relentless.

Back near the Moon Pool, the Captain smacked his hand on his thigh as the frustration started to gnaw away.

Bridger spoke quietly to Ford, trying to work out how to close down the security screen. At the moment it was doing exactly what it was designed to do, but instead of preventing somebody entering SeaQuest, it was going to allow Mycroft to steal the launch and supplies.

"Commander Hitchcock," Ford spoke into his PAL communicator.

"Hitchcock here," Katie responded.

"Katie, are you able to monitor where he went to?" already knowing that there was little they could do in the way of tracking his movements from where they were standing.

"Negative, Sir, unless he has a communicator on him or something that I can trace," Hitchcock answered.

"Nathan, we should warn Lucas to stay in his cabin until we catch this fellow," Kristin said worriedly. Bridger nodded his head in agreement.

"Commander, page Lucas for me on his communicator?" Bridger requested.

"Aye, Sir," Katie obeyed, and used her console to do that. The Bridger was on lock down which meant most of the critical operations were suspended, including communication from the Bridge to other parts of SeaQuest, but she still had use of her own PAL Communicator and some operations working.

The PAL Communicator beside the Moon Pool was currently switched off, and didn't make a sound or light up at Katie's attempts.

Katie couldn't get any response from the teenager and contacted the Captain once more, "Sorry Captain, but I can't get Lucas to respond to my page."

Bridger couldn't help but become more alarmed at the Commander's words, "Katie, trace Lucas's PAL and tell me where he is right now?"

Kristin and the others could sense the urgency in his voice, and knew what he was worried about.

"Captain, my sensors indicate that Lucas is standing on the same Deck as you."

"Check again Katie, that can't be right," Ben challenged, but then spotted the PAL Communicator on the edge of the Moon Pool.

"How can that be possible?" Ford queried, thinking that Katie much have been mistaken too.

"Nathan!" Kristin suddenly exclaimed in alarm, pointing to the PAL communicator that Krieg had spotted a few moments earlier.

"That must be Lucas's PAL communicator," Chief Crocker surmised.

"What would Clemens being doing with it?" Tim asked innocently enough, but the look on the faces of the Captain and Doctor Westphalen told them all.

Bridger couldn't help but feel his stomach tying itself in knots, remembering back to the Science Lab and how he had found Lucas's notebook on the table. All this time they had assumed that he had left and was safe. A sense of dread began to wash over him, but before he could make any sort of comments, they could all hear the sounds of footsteps coming towards them.

The Captain shouted out as Mycroft entered the area once more, pulling along with him a very confused and unsteady teenager, "LUCAS!"

"What have you done to him?" Krieg growled ready to save his friend, but Ford had to grip the back of his shirt to stop him from hurting himself on the electric shield.

The group watched on helplessly as Mycroft dragged the stumbling youth towards the railing of the small staircase. Clemens was shoving him along, rather than the teenager walking under his own. The boy did not look very well at all.

Bridger's anxiety grew, seeing the obvious distress of his son. Lucas hadn't spoken, but he was clearly unsteady on his feet and could collapse at any moment.

As they approached the stairs, Mycroft gave a little bit too hard of a push to Lucas, causing him to fall to his knees. Nathan was yet to get a good look at the teenager to see where he was hurt.

Clemens unlocked Lucas's right wrist and now secured the cuff around the railing. He made sure that it wouldn't allow the boy to escape and turned back towards the communications station to see if his group had responded.

"Let him go," Kristin yelled at Mycroft, "Can't you see he's hurt. Lucas can you hear me honey?"

Clemens looked around, but didn't make any comment to the doctor.

Lucas gave out a low moan, and turned his head towards the sound of Kristin's voice.

Bridger couldn't hold back the cry of outrage that was caught in his throat as they got to view the side of the teenager's face for the first time, "YOU BASTARD!"

Ben was just as angry as his Captain. The left hand side of Lucas's handsome face was marred by a darkening bruise. They could clearly see the trickles of blood that ran from just beneath his hairline down to his jaw. Some drops had fallen off and soaked into his shirt.

Nathan kerbed his cursing of Mycroft and his facial expression softened as his attention drawn back to Lucas as the teenager tried to speak.

"C-Cap……..," Lucas whispered, using his free hand to reach up to his head. The dizziness was growing exponentially.

"He may have a bad concussion, Nathan," Kristin assessed, noting that the teenager was only semi-conscious.

Nathan tried to talk calmly, "Lucas?" From where he was standing, he could only watch in anguish at the young man's pain. The anger in him grew as he saw the handcuff around the boy's wrist and the slight reddened areas were it was rubbing against the skin.

"You heard the Captain, let Lucas go," Ford demanded, trying again to find a way of shutting off the shield. There was no way to get to the teenager and help him.

"I cannot do that. At least if he is there I know where he is and he cannot prevent me from getting off SeaQuest," Mycroft commented. At this point in time he saw no reason to tell the crew that he intended to take the young man with him back to Andromeda. They would learn that soon enough.

"LET HIM GO!" Bridger shouted again.

Lucas was trying to rattle the handcuffs and get free, he could hear voices and shouting, but he couldn't put all it together with his head pounding so badly.

Kristin was still trying to coax the teenager to speak to her. At least that would ease her concerns about a concussion. "Lucas, can you hear me?"

Lucas heard the voice and recognized it, his mind still swirling and his throat still incredibly dry. He tried to swallow, but could feel the nausea returning twofold. His body was telling him to sleep, but part of him was telling himself that he needed to move.

"Lucas, buddy," Ben called out gently, hoping he might be able to help Kristin.

"B-Ben………u-under f-f-floor ……….. hit m-my h-head," Lucas stammered too quickly, getting the sequence of events out of order.

"S-shhhh," Bridger tried to soothe, "We will help you," reassuring the injured boy, appalled at the bruising and blood that he could see.

His few short words had given the crew a basic description of what had happened back at Science Lab 5 and why they hadn't been able to find any trace of Mycroft.

Lucas grabbed onto the railing, trying to use it as support to pull himself up from his knees. The chain from the handcuff was too short for him to go anywhere. The teenager could hear voices talking, but they sounded too far way.

"Lucas……… Lucas," Kristin called, her voice calm and quiet. She could see him attempting to stand up, but could also see the pain from the exertion across his face. His pallor was still pale.

The teenager suddenly stopped, the dizziness was becoming too much. He couldn't get the pain out of his head. Without warning, the blood drained abruptly from his face and the boy pitched forwarded onto the floor and passed out.

"LUCAS," Bridger cried out, his torment continuing that he couldn't get to the boy to help him.

Mycroft had turned at he sudden noise of something crashing to the floor, and had a brief look of concern on his face, but quickly turned back to the communications station.

"He isn't moving at all," Krieg said with frustration and helpless mixed into his voice.

"If he has a bad concussion, then any sort of movement will only make it worse," Kristin tried to explain. She wasn't about to give a medical lecture, but knew that the Lieutenant cared for Lucas as much as Nathan did.

From where he was standing, Bridger could see Lucas, laying at the top of the stairs, unconscious. The bruised skin was now standing out against the stark paleness of his face. The bleeding appeared to have stopped, but the trickles of dried blood were still there.

"How are we going to get to him?" Ford asked, knowing that the Captain was now more worried about Lucas than Mycroft getting off SeaQuest.

"Please Martin, at least move him down here. He's hurt and bleeding and needs medical attention. We can do that from behind here at least," Bridger pleaded.

"He is in no condition to try and stop you leaving," Nathan added thinking that Mycroft had some crazy idea that Lucas's computer skills might thwart his efforts to get steal the launch.

"Sorry, Captain, I cannot do that."

Bridger's temper flared at the man's disregard for Lucas laying unconscious, "Of course you can do that. You did this to him. You have no right keeping him restrained like that. He's hurt damn you!"

Mycroft had heard all of the Captain's pleas, and for a brief moment he felt like telling Bridger how sorry he was for striking the boy at all. But his thoughts were interrupted by a static crackle coming across the communications station.

"Rogue 2, this is Company Leader, do you read?"

The SeaQuest crew could clearly hear the party that Mycroft was trying to contact at the other end. It was noisy and full of static, but decipherable.

"Company Leader, this is Rogue 2," Mycroft responded. "Advise that I am ready to rendezvous with you in approximately 1 hour. Have supplies and 1 package, will need assistance to unload."

The SeaQuest crew had no idea that Clemens meant Lucas to be the 1 package.

"Roger that, will meet up in 1 hour, Company Leader out."

"Now Captain Bridger, I need to gather those supplies," Mycroft stated, heading off down one of the corridors.

For the next thirty minutes or so, the SeaQuest crew and Security Officers were forced to stand by and watch Clemens bring out box after box. About half way through, he used the communications station to prepare a launch in Docking Bay Number 3.

Kristin was seated on the floor a short distance from the shield, together with Nathan as they kept trying to assess Lucas's condition. The teenager was still out cold and still lay very quiet.

Ford, Shan, Crocker and Ben stood a short distance away, taking inventory of the supplies that Clemens was carrying out, ready to load onto the launch.

"From what I can see he has about 2 dozen blankets, water purification tablets, some heating equipment, matches, candles, bottled water and some first-aid kits," Ben informed the Commander.

"I don't get it though," Ortiz spoke up. "SeaQuest has three times the amount of those items that he is taking, why does he bother with just those. If he was going to steal stuff from here, you think it would be electronic equipment and radios."

Mycroft was checking of a hand-written list that he had prepared, counting what was there. He glanced over at the form of Lucas laying on the floor on a couple of occasions, the guilt of his actions showing a little.

Nathan and Kristin were stunned along with everybody else when Clemens broke open one of the packs of bottled water, and grabbed one of the blankets from the bundle and walked over to where the teenager lay.

He bend down and placed his hand on the boy's neck, checking his pulse. Clemens gave a brief and curt nod to the doctor, to signal that it was still strong. He unfolded the blanket and spread it out roughly over the Lucas's sleeping form. The water bottled was placed beside him.

Bridger couldn't understand what he just saw. Why would he do that to Lucas after he had assaulted him? For a brief moment he had to be grateful for the small comfort that the man offered.

Mycroft was at the communications station again, getting the launch ready to leave.

An audible moan from Lucas brought the SeaQuest crew's attention back to him, as he began to wake up. "Lucas, can you hear me," Kristen repeated her earlier question.

She was rewarded with a small reply, barely above a whisper, "Yeah,"

"Tell me how you feel," Kristen urged the teenager. He was still lying down, and hadn't woken entirely yet. She knew she couldn't rush him.

There was a long pause before Lucas uttered the one word answer, "T-tired……,"

Nathan gave a small grin in relief, but knew that Lucas wasn't out of danger yet.

Lucas lifted his head and then his shoulders off the decking, the blanket sliding down beside him. He stopped until he felt his waiting for his sense of balance return, opening his eyes.

The teenager wanted to use his voice, but his mouth was so dry. He lifted his hand to his neck and rubbed at his throat, he then spotted the water bottle beside him. He unscrewed the cap and took a small sip of the water. It wasn't cold but it was wet. He didn't want to risk taking anymore in case the nausea returned.

Lucas was now sitting up, with his back against the railing, but Bridger and Kristin were able to keep an eye on him from that position. They were pleased to note that the young man was somewhat a little more coherent than he had been when Clemens first handcuffed him to the railing.

Kristin noted that the teenager did look very tired, but also knew the risks about allowing a patient to fall back to sleep after suffering an injury and passing our like Lucas had done. "We have to try and keep him awake."

Bridger nodded an acknowledgement the he had heard the doctor and recognized the dangers, "Lucas talk to me," he said, trying to keep the boy's attention from his pain.

"A-about what?" But as the words left his lips, the teenager's head began to sag towards his chest, his eyes were heavy and drooping.

"No, no, Lucas, try and keep awake, honey," Kristin tried to warn. It did the trick and the teenager opened his eyes again, attempting to follow her instructions.

"P-Please don't shout," Lucas whispered, wrapping his free hand around his head and giving another wince of pain.

"Try and move your arms and legs for me," Kristin asked, wanting to see if the teenager had suffered any other injuries that couldn't be seen. They had seen him try and stand earlier, but that do anything to quell her concern for him.

"W-what happened?" Lucas asked softly.

"You have a terrible head wound, Lucas, you have to remain as still as possible until I can reach you to help," Kristin replied.

"Bad head wound?" Lucas said, but because of the throbbing, had no reason to doubt the doctor. He began reaching his hand up to the area, wincing as he fingertips gently brushed across his temple.

The injured teenager heard the distinct rattle of the chain and opened his eyes and looked down at the handcuff around his wrist. It took a few moments for him to understand and recall the images of Clemens lifting him up out of the crawl space.

Lucas's eyes flew open at the memory and he looked around trying to spot the man who had done this to him. The handcuff around his wrist fuelled his fear as he pulled on it, trying to escape.

Bridger could see the fright on the teenager's face as he became more alert, "Hang on there kiddo, we will help you as soon as we can."

Lucas looked at the Captain, and now noticed the shield that separated him from the rest of the crew standing there. "Got to get you out of there," he said, worrying that Mycroft was keeping them prisoner rather than himself.

"We have to find a way to shut off the shield," Bridger told him.

"There is a remote control up on the pole there, Lucas, but you are too far away to reach it," Commander Fordcommented.

"Good to see you awake, Frankie," Mycroft stated as he walked back from taking the last load of supplies to the launch bay, using the nick name that he had used back on NODE 3.

"Take this thing off of me!" Lucas demanded angrily. The rise of his temper made his headache throb that much more.

"Lucas, calm down, you are only going to hurt yourself more," Kristin tried to calm the agitated teenager.

"Better listen to your doctor friend there, Frankie," Mycroft commented.

"Go to hell!" Lucas spat at the man. "Only my friends call me by that name, and you are no friend of mine."

Clemens knew that the SeaQuest crew were about to learn more about his agenda of getting back to Andromeda, but the rendezvous with the rebels fast approaching, the supplies.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Lucas, it was an accident," Mycroft said, trying to defend himself.

"Oh yeah, right. Hitting me in the head with flash light out of nowhere is an accident," Lucas accused. He stopped speaking as he could feel the nausea returning.

Crocker pulled out the small flash light that was part of his security belt. It was a smaller version and meant as a personal item, but the material was the same, a hard polymer plastic. No wonder Lucas had such a bruise forming down the side of his face.

"I tried to ask you nicely, Lucas. I told you what I was trying to do and what benefits would come to a lot of people. Now I am beginning to run out of options, and if that means forcing you to go back with me to Andromeda, then I will do just that."

"I am not going anywhere with you," Lucas shouted. "You can't make me help you or your rebel group."

Kristin's heart just about skipped a beat along with Bridger from behind the security screen. Until just now they had no idea that Clemens intended to kidnap the teenager. That is why Lucas had been segregated from the rest of them.

"I don't want to kill anybody, Lucas." Mycroft responded. "I just want you."

"You are not taking that boy anywhere!" Kristin shouted at Clemens.

"I am not going back with you," Lucas stated, his voice determined. On the inside he was a bundle of nerves and trying to think of a way out.

"By force if necessary," Mycroft repeated.

"Don't you touch him," Bridger hissed walking back and forth along the screen, trying to find a way to shut it off and help Lucas.

Mycroft ignored Bridger entirely, but instead, pulled out a small black pistol from his jacket and pointed it at Lucas who had no chance of running.

The Security Team and SeaQuest crew held their collective breaths as the situation had escalated to dangerous. They couldn't fire their weapons at the shield, the shots would only ricochet back towards them.

"LET HIM GO," Bridger demanded again, "You are not taking him anywhere."

"He doesn't really have a choice in this, Captain, and neither do you," Clemens replied coldly.

"Up on your feet, Lucas, time to go," he said, the gun still in plain sight.

Lucas couldn't deny some fear running through him at seeing the gun pointed at him, but at the same time, he was angry that this man was forcing him to do something he didn't want to do.

"NO!" Lucas yelled defiantly.

"Leave him alone," could be heard coming from a number of the crew standing and feeling so helpless.

"I said STAND UP!," Mycroft shouted, stomping his way over and gruffly grabbing the teenager by the front of his shirt.

By the time Clemens had pulled the struggling teenager to his feet, a fine sheen of perspiration could be seen on the Lucas's forehead. His was trying to take a few deep breaths and keep check of his protesting body at its rough treatment.

"Can't you see what I am trying to achieve here is a peaceful place for these people to live," Mycroft tried to explain one last time, hoping that he could somehow convince the boy to come willingly.

Lucas looked at the man with every shred of contempt that he had, "No, Mycroft, the only thing I see is hypocorism at its worst."

The look from Clemen's turned from demanding to angry, the boy's words feeling like a slap in the face.

"You are getting on that launch, like it or not, Lucas," Clemens stated firmly, bending down slightly to undo the handcuff that was around the railing. He had no intentions of removing the one from the teenager's wrist.

In a split second, Lucas saw the one and only chance he was going to get at getting some help from Bridger and the others. He could see the remote control that Commander Ford had shown him earlier. Mycroft's gaze was on the handcuff on the railing, and the gun's aim had altered slightly, with the weapon pointing at the floor.

Bridger could see the boy tense his muscles, what wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. He knew Lucas had to be scared, it was only natural.

Before Clemens figured what he was up to, Lucas waited until he heard the tell-tale 'click' of the handcuff and took his best shot.

"Get away from me," the teenager yelled, and gave Mycroft an almighty shove, sending the man sprawling across the deck a few feet away and causing the gun fall from his hand.

Lucas untangled the unlocked handcuff from around the railing and tried to run to the pole where the remote control for the shield was.

"Good going, Lucas," Bridger exclaimed as the teenager got the remote from its sleeve and was about to deactivate the security shield. He hoped that within a few moments the tables would be turned on Mycroft and he would be the one in chains.

His elation though was short lived though as Mycroft got up angrily from the decking and made a charge at the teenager.

"Ooph!" came the sound as Lucas found himself tackled roughly from behind. He hit the floor hard and the air was driven from his lungs. The jarring caused the remote control to fall out of his hand.

Mycroft and Lucas were wrestling for the remote, but the man was stronger, reaching it first and throwing it into the Moon Pool. It was useless now as it hit the water and short-circuited.

Clemens quickly retrieved his gun, and again grabbed the teenager roughly, pulling him to his feet. Before Lucas could do anything, Mycroft used the back of his hand to strike the youth viciously across the face, "That was a stupid move, Lucas."

"Says you," Lucas wiping away a small amount of blood from the corner of his lip, glaring at his captor. His face stung like hell.

Mycroft seized the youth's free wrist and slapped the open cuff around it once more, smirking a little at the small gasp Lucas gave. 'Now, get going!" he ordered, pointing the gun at the teenager once more for emphasis.

"No!" Lucas refused once more, "What are you going to do, shoot me first?"

Before Mycroft could answer, a splash in water drew everyone's attention to the Moon Pool. Darwin surfaced and gave a small chirp. Bridger couldn't reach him from where he was, the mammal was restricted to the other side of the tank.

"I can't shoot you, Lucas, I need you alive," Mycroft responded. "But there are other people aboard this vessel."

Lucas looked nervously back at the Security crew, his family and friends standing behind the shield. He could never live with himself if one of them got shot by Mycroft instead.

"Don't listen to his lies, Lucas," Bridger tried to warn the teenager. "He can't shoot us from behind here."

"But I can certainly shoot the fish," Mycroft said menacingly, pointing the gun at Darwin.

"NO! You can't shoot Darwin," Lucas panicked, trying to fight against Mycroft and the handcuffs that prevented him from getting a hold of the gun. "He hasn't done anything to you."

"But what does he mean to you?" Clemens asked cruelly, knowing that the teenager had a strong connection with the animal.

Lucas's body language said it all as his shoulders slumped and he stopped his struggling. His face was looking down at the floor, but then he briefly looked directly at Bridger.

"He is a dolphin, not a fish," Lucas said in a low voice, looking back at Mycroft, but defeat clearly written across his face. He had no choice.

"He is still hurt, you can't just take him," Kristin said, "He has a concussion."

"There is some aspirin in the first-aid kits aboard the launch, he can have those," Mycroft informed her.

Clemens, please don't do this," Bridger pleaded, as the man began pulling the handcuffed and resisting teenager towards the Launch Bay doors.

"I can't let him hurt Darwin," Lucas managed to say, looking back at the Captain and the Doctor.

Mycroft reached the communications station, and hit the control that opened the doors, 'Docking Bay Number 3 now available' came the recorded message over the loud speaker.

The SeaQuest crew watched helplessly as Mycroft forced the injured teenager towards the hatch ladder. Lucas put his feet on the rungs, his grip with his hands made that much more difficult with his handcuffs.

"B-Ben……help me," Lucas said, fear beginning to set in. His legs were trembling and he was beginning to feel light-headed again.

Mycroft pointed the gun at him again, forcing him to descend the ladder into the launch, but his last sentence could clearly be heard :

"Captain……… please …………… find me,"

to be continued…………………

Author Notes:

Yes I know ….. you don't want me to finish this.

Actually I had a completely different scene written and finished, with Lucas just walking onto the deck and being forced into the shuttle – but then I wrote this. I wanted Lucas to be both vulnerable –but also have a few moments of anger and fighting back too. I also in the end wanted him to be awake when he went down the ladder so he could look at Bridger – so I didn't knock him out there like I originally intended.

So I changed it – will use the other scene at another time.

You also have to pretend that although Katie Hitchcock might have been able to help Lucas, in my story – she couldn't.

Martin Clemens I tried to portray differently – with him feeling guilty in places – but then not in others. Probably not strictly in keeping with the character.

Having the crew not know about taking Lucas with him until the last minute just happened as I was writing.

There are a few twists and turns to come – so if you think its going to be just a rescue mission – then you better hold on – because its about to get bumpy yet. The Company Leader is someone that nobody is expecting – a new character.

The parts about the security shield come from the episode GAMES where I saw it used for Rubin Zeller. And I don't think I did a well enough job of describing how Bridger and the crew couldn't do anything to help Lucas – but that was how I was trying to write it – just that they couldn't get to him.

Updates for other stories and other ideas on my profile page if you would like to read them at any time. I still have others that are not put up there yet.

Reviews are very much welcome – did I do okay ???

I hope you enjoy.

JULES