Sorry for leaving you waiting so long. Too many things to do and definitely not enough hours in the day! Oh well, here's the next chapter for you so I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Eight

Tim slowly tapped a finger on the console as he waited for Lucas to respond to his PAL. He couldn't call both the captain and Lucas at once so he chose to call the teenager first. That way it at least gave him some time to wake up before he had to speak with his father. As he tried again, Tim wondered why Doctor Wolenczak was so anxious to speak with them.

Suddenly the quiet of the late shift was broken as Darwin surfaced abruptly. He thrashed out of the water, splashing water over the rim and onto the floor.

"Help Lucas!"

Ford was half way towards the tank already, just about to find out why Darwin was making such a mess on his bridge. He rushed forward at the dolphin's words. Even without any inflection in the mechanised voice the sense of urgency was still obvious.

"What?" he demanded.

"Help Lucas! Lucas hurts."

"Where is he Darwin?" The commander knew at this time of night that the teenager should be in his quarters but if he was hurt then it was quite possible he'd left his room and gone somewhere else.

"Sleeping."

Ford frowned at the response. "He's asleep? Then what's the problem?"

Darwin shook his snout as if in frustration. "Lucas hurts! Sleeping hurts!"

The commander spun back towards O'Neill as understanding hit. "Tim, get a medteam to Lucas' quarters. Tell them he's possibly unconscious."

As he heard his comms officer quickly comply with the order he pulled out his own PAL and called the captain. As he was expecting Bridger to be asleep he was surprised at how quickly he responded.

"Captain, Darwin is here saying there is something wrong with Lucas. We've sent a medteam already."

Ben instinctively leaped to his feet as he listened to the commander's message. Bridger was also on his feet and heading for the door before he had even responded. The two men looked at each other and neither wanted to give voice to what they were thinking. Maybe Lucas hadn't safely walked away from his meeting with Perez after all.


Lawrence paced his office before calling his secretary again. Finally he stopped and jabbed at the intercom. "Stacey! Get me the seaQuest again. This can't wait!"

"Yes, Doctor." She tried the connection again and put on her best smile as she expected she might be dismissed again by the officer she had last spoken to. It didn't surprise her that a military vessel might not be available to take her call immediately but given the mood the doctor was in she was prepared to try anything to get him through. Charm usually got her what she needed but she didn't think that UEO officers were particularly susceptible to it.

Finally the vidlink opened up and the same young man she had spoken to earlier appeared on the screen. She smiled at him and quickly started to speak before he could say anything.

"Please, Lieutenant, I know you said you would get back to us but it is extremely important that Doctor Wolenczak speaks with his son immediately."

Tim shifted slightly in his seat, unsure of how to respond. There had been no news since Darwin had abruptly swum off again; presumably back to Lucas' quarters, and he didn't want to alarm Lawrence unnecessarily. Before he needed to think what to say the doctor cut in on his secretary.

"O'Neill, is it? I need to speak to my son, right now!"

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I was trying to wake Lucas and get him to call you back. It's actually very late here and he's off duty. I promise that …"

"Lieutenant, you don't understand! I need to speak with him now and see that he's all right. Somebody has … someone has threatened him and I need to know that it's just a threat … and not real." The fear in his voice matched the look on his face.

As Ford watched, the colour seemed to drain from the man's face. His own stomach lurched as he put the news of a threat against Lucas and Darwin's warning together.

He stepped up to the screen. "What kind of threat has been made? Lucas has been safely aboard the seaQuest for days." Somehow that still didn't seem comforting, even as the words came out of his own mouth.

Lawrence ran a hand through his hair and turned back to the vidscreen. His mind was reeling but he couldn't shake the feeling he was being stalled.


Darwin hovered in the aquatube and watched. Lucas hadn't moved since he had left. He was still sprawled on the floor between his bunk and his desk. Suddenly the door burst open as Bridger ran into the room, followed closely by Ben. The dolphin couldn't hear anything but he could see as the captain crouched down beside Lucas and gently shook him. When he got no response he checked for a pulse and was relieved when his fingers picked up a heartbeat.

Carefully the two men rolled the teenager over onto his back. He groaned and tried to open his eyes as the captain pressed a hand against his cheek.

"Lucas. Can you hear me? C'mon, Kiddo, speak to me."

A shaky hand reached out and tentatively wrapped around his wrist. Lucas' face twisted in pain as he opened his eyes.

"Make it stop." The words were barely a whisper and Bridger had to lean down closer.

"I can't hear you."

"Make … it … stop!" Lucas squeezed the captain's arm. Before he could answer, the medteam arrived and he felt himself being pushed out of the way. He reluctantly let go of Lucas' hand as he moved aside for the medics.

His PAL beeped several times before he was aware it was even going off. As he pulled it out he never took his eyes off the teenager's face. Lucas had closed his eyes again but his face was still contorted in pain as the medic checked him over.

"Looks like we might need to prep for surgery."

As the directions were being relayed back to medbay Ben looked from one doctor's face to the other.

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"He's got all the signs of acute appendicitis. Just needs a couple of tests to confirm it."

The captain's PAL beeped again and he absently answered it.

"Bridger here."

Ford's voice came back at him. "Captain, we've got Doctor Wolenczak on the vidlink and he says there has been a threat made against Lucas. Is everything all right there, Sir?"

The crew on the bridge seemed to hold their collective breath as they waited for the answer. Lucas' father had stopped pacing and was staring at the commander.

Bridger watched as Lucas was lifted onto a gurney and he rushed to reach out for the boy as he heard him cry out again. Lucas' arm flailed blindly in the air; reaching out for something, anything that would help. The captain grasped hold of his hand and began to walk alongside the gurney as it was wheeled off towards medbay.

"Captain? Is Lucas all right?"

Bridger shook his head. He hadn't really registered the commander's words fully and was more concerned with getting Lucas to medbay where they could administer some pain relief and get him whatever else he needed.

"Uh … no Jonathan. It seems he has appendicitis. We are on our way to medbay right now."

Lawrence wanted to climb through the vidlink as he heard the captain's words. "Tell them to check for poison! It isn't appendicitis. He's been poisoned!"

Ford turned back towards the vidlink. "What?!"

Lawrence clenched his fists in frustration. His breath was coming in heaving bursts as he tried desperately to get them to listen to him. Every minute counted.

"Tell them that Lucas has been poisoned. Perez sent me a package and he told me he poisoned Lucas. Tell them!" he screamed at the screen.

Ford held up his PAL again and relayed the information through to the captain. He also directed for the vidlink relay to be patched through to medbay.

Bridger could see the doors to medbay swing open as the gurney was pushed through and he was relieved to see Kristin already there on the other side. She had a dressing gown draped around her but it was obvious she had bolted from her quarters.

On the vidscreen behind her, the captain could see the anxious face of Lucas' father.

"Check him for poison! It isn't appendicitis. Perez poisoned him. And sent me the antidote."

Kristin pushed her hair out of her face before ordering a full blood work. She gently began to probe at Lucas' abdomen and he cried out in pain each time she touched him. His eyes were beginning to glaze over and his cheeks were flushed.

"Please …" he reached out desperately and tried to push her hand away. "Make it stop," he wheezed out. Bridger grabbed a hold of his hand again and squeezed it for reassurance.

"They will, Lucas, just take it easy."

He looked up at Kristin and began to sort out the myriad of questions running through his mind. "How could Perez have poisoned him? It's been days since he came back. Is there anything that is that slow-acting?"

"With symptoms like this? No," she shook her head.

Ben had followed the group into the room but had hung back to allow them to work. "What about the package Perez sent Lucas?"

All heads looked up as he spoke. Bridger shook his head. "No, the bio-security protocols would have picked up anything hazardous. There wasn't anything in that package but a letter."

Kristin suddenly stiffened. "Where is the letter now?"

"What?"

"Nathan, where is that letter now?" she demanded.

"In Lucas' quarters I guess. Why?"

"Nico Perez is a bio-chemist. He would know that nothing could get through the bio-security if it was hazardous. But what if it wasn't hazardous until Lucas picked it up?"

Ben looked at her in confusion. "We all read that letter and none of us is sick. There's nothing dangerous on that letter."

"Maybe because it wasn't sent to us. Lucas went to see Perez. It would have been very easy to get a DNA sample and then engineer something that was DNA-sensitive. The technology isn't new."

"Just outlawed in the UEO!" Bridger growled. He stared at the teenager's drawn features and the others watched his face contort in anger. "The bastard could have created something that was specific to Lucas and completely innocuous enough to get through the protocols."

Ben stared at him in disbelief. "But why would Perez want to poison Lucas?"

Lawrence's weary voice cut in from the vidscreen, "To get back at me. Captain you need to get me a UEO transport. Perez sent me the antidote but I need you to help me get it to you in time. It would be just his sick idea to give me the antidote but not enough time to get it there."

Ford responded before Bridger had a chance to. He had still been listening to the conversation from the bridge and had already issued orders for Tim to organise a UEO shuttle to be sent to the World Power facility. "We're on it already, Captain. A shuttle is on its way, Doctor."

Bridger nodded in agreement as he leaned closer to Lucas. The boy's breathing seemed more strained and the colour flush across his cheeks was unnatural. "Hold on, Kiddo, help is coming," he whispered. He straightened up and addressed the vidscreen.

"Jonathan, set a course for World Power. What's our ETA?"

Ford glanced over at the helm before answering. "Approximately six hours, Sir, but we should rendezvous with the shuttle in less than four."

Bridger looked back across at Kristin. "Is that enough time?" he asked anxiously.

"I still haven't established this actually is a poison yet. We need that letter for starters to run tests on it and I'll need those blood test results back too."

Lucas groaned as he tried to move on the table and both Kristin and the captain laid restraining hands on his arms and shoulders. "Easy, Lucas."

"Can't you give him something for the pain?" he asked the doctor.

Kristin shook her head. "Until we know what we are dealing with I can't give him anything. If there are drugs in his system then anything I give him could have a counter-reaction and make things worse."

Lucas muttered something under his breath but seemed unaware that anyone was even there. Bridger looked up towards the vidscreen to see his own fear mirrored on the face before him. Lawrence stared back at him but soon enough his eyes were drawn back to his son. He scrubbed a shaky hand over his face and tried to swallow down his fear. His throat seemed totally devoid of any moisture and he had to sit down on the edge of his desk.


The woman yawned as she walked. It had been a long and boring night shift but as she glanced at her watch she was pleased to see it was nearly over. In about eighteen minutes she could hand over to the next shift and head off for some much needed sleep.

"These extended shifts suck!" she announced to nobody. It was a fact of life on the newer large conference facilities that staff numbers were limited to allow for the maximum number of guests. That meant everybody pulled longer shifts as there were less people to do the work required.

As she rounded the second last corner before the access port something caught her attention. A sheen on the aquatubes. She reached out a hand and was startled to feel it was damp.

She grabbed her comm from her pocket and began punching in the access code for the main control centre. "Control, can you read me?"

"Spencer here," the disembodied voice floated back at her.

Before she could respond she reached out a hand again and laid it against the tube. A tiny crack inched its way up the glass, right before her eyes.

"Spenc …"