Notes: Lynnp – There was no mention of the crashing patient from Chapter 9 in Chapter 10 because it wasn't relevant to what was happening. That was a scene simply meant to add a little extra tension to the end of that chapter.
Chapter 11
The return to consciousness was a long, slow process and when Nathan Bridger finally opened his eyes, he squinted into the bright light that streamed into the room through the open curtains.
He lay still for a few minutes as the fog slowly filtered out of his mind and a waking awareness took its place. His eyes slowly scanned the room, though without moving his head he couldn't see much. After a few minutes, his head lolled to one side and his eyes automatically fell on the dishwater blond head lying just out of reach on the bed.
Nathan tried to speak but his mouth was dry and his lips were parched. He inhaled deeply of the fresh oxygen that flowed through the thin tube across his face and welcomed it for a brief moment before he began to cough. He winced and slid his hand up his chest to stop the pain.
When Lucas' head shot up and his eyes widened to saucer-like proportions, Nathan chuckled – and then started to cough all over again.
"Captain!" Lucas cried excitedly. No sooner had the teen pressed the button that would call the nurse to the room, did one show up, a doctor on her heels.
"Well, Captain Bridger, good of you to join us," the doctor said as he began to examine the equipment monitoring the man's condition. "You gave everyone quite a scare."
Nathan swallowed thickly before his eyes settled on Lucas. "What – happened?"
Lucas exchanged a concerned look with the doctor, which Nathan noted.
"You don't – remember?"
Nathan chuckled, and then immediately regretted it as his chest pulled uncomfortably. He took a few deep breaths and then whispered, "Oh, I remember being shot." He glanced down at his chest. "Multiple times."
"You've had a series of successful surgeries to repair a collapsed lung, punctured kidney and various other injuries."
Nathan's eyes slipped toward the doctor and he tried to concentrate on what the man was saying. He could feel himself weakening, could feel whatever the nurse just pushed through his IV start to take effect.
Lucas was saying something but Nathan felt so very far away, until he remembered what had drawn him back; the piercing sound of an explosion surrounded by a dozen different screams and a small fiery-tempered red-head lying motionless beneath him.
He fought the numbing effect of the drugs and forced a name out of his parched mouth. "Kristin?"
He squinted against his drooping eyelids and saw Lucas smile, heard him answer that she was okay and that was enough. He relaxed into the soft downy cloud his mattress had suddenly become and fell back into a drug-induced slumber.
"Sir, we're four hours out from our destination," Lonnie Henderson said as Ford turned and met her announcement with a curt nod.
"Thank you, Lonnie."
Ford returned to the captain's chair and sat looking at the console, something he'd been doing since he'd arrived on the bridge.
Lonnie leaned over to Tony Piccolo. "What's going on?"
Tony didn't answer.
"We just left Lucas and Wendy behind. I wonder why?" Lonnie kept her question to a whisper so that the Commander didn't overhear.
They both looked over when Dagwood ambled onto the bridge. His mood was just was melancholy as the rest, but he didn't possess the mental faculties to understand a tactful conversation. So they watched as he stopped beside the Commander and looked down at him.
Lonnie and Piccolo exchanged an amused look but wiped the smiles off their faces when Ford's eyes slid up to Dagwood's.
"What is it, Dagwood?"
"Just wondering." He kicked his foot shyly along the grating beneath him, "if you know how the others are doing?"
Ford shook his head tiredly and Lonnie sympathized. He looked as tired as she felt. "I don't know, Dagwood."
"Can't you find out?"
"As soon as we have a chance to call for an update, we will."
Dagwood looked hopefully over at O'Neill. "We aren't doing anything right now."
O'Neill swiveled in his seat and answered the GELF. "Yes, we are. We're sailing at a depth that would require a telecommunication's array to be perfectly aligned so that we could get a transmission back to UEO HQ."
"Oh." Dagwood ducked his head and went about his business only a few minutes later responding with a slow, "I think they're ok, though."
"I hope you're right, Dagwood," Lonnie smiled at him before turning her attention to Ford when he called her name.
"Sir?"
"Once we've reached the coordinates, we are going to rise to firing depth."
Lonnie's heart thudded sharply in her chest and she exchanged a worried look with Piccolo. They wouldn't have to rise to firing depth if they were going to be unloading a normal payload on an undersea target.
"Sir-" She was afraid to ask.
But Ford had turned to weapons. "Once at firing depth, you will transfer weapons control to my station."
Lonnie's hand began to tremble and Piccolo leaned over and covered it with his. Ford continued to issue instructions, but his voice faded away as she turned toward Piccolo.
"Is he ordering what I think he's -"
Piccolo's eyes shifted from Ford back to Lonnie. "Yeah."
Lonnie sank into her seat, a look of genuine fear on her face. "Oh God."
The next time Nathan woke, his head was much clearer. His body still ached, but it was only dull throbbing now, numbed by the pain medication. An excited Lucas greeted him the moment he opened his eyes.
"Hey, kiddo," he whispered as his eyes scanned what little of the room he could see without moving his head. "Where is everyone?"
Before Lucas could answer, Wendy Smith walked in, a genuine smile on her face. "Good to see you awake, Nathan."
He took a chance and moved his head. When it didn't pull uncomfortably, he shifted it even further to one side. "How long have I been out?"
Lucas held up a glass and positioned the straw at his lips. Nathan smiled gratefully as he took a few sips to wet his pallet.
"A few days," Wendy answered and moved to his side to check the monitors. To Lucas, she admonished, "Not too much now. His system needs to get used to liquids again."
'Days?" Nathan coughed for a moment and then raised his hand when two sets of eyes shifted toward him in concern. "I'm fine. Days? Where is everyone?" He couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment when he noticed Kristin was no where in sight.
"Gone," Lucas said sadly and Nathan caught the silencing glare Wendy threw in the teen's direction.
"Where? Gone? What do you mean?" His heart rate rose, as did his voice.
"You need to calm down, Captain," Wendy said, touching her fingers to his wrist.
He ignored her and stared at Lucas. "Gone where?"
"They sent seaQuest out."
Nathan's brow furrowed. "Out where?"
Lucas frowned before responding with a glance in Wendy's direction. "They wouldn't say."
Nathan's head lolled toward Wendy. "Where?"
The woman shrugged and he didn't need to be psychic to tell she was lying. He squeezed Lucas' hand. "Can you excuse us for a minute, kiddo? I need to talk with Wendy."
The teen hesitated but eventually acquiesced. Once he was gone, Nathan's eyes hardened. "Where did they go? And why aren't you with them? Or Lucas, for that matter?"
"Admiral Noyce felt it better that Lucas stayed here with you. I'm here because I'm your CMO."
"There are plenty of doctors here that can look after me. If seaQuest's put to the waters again, she needs her medical chief."
"Doctor Westphalen went with them."
He detected a small hint of resentment in her voice at the mention of Kristin's name but didn't dwell on it. He was more concerned that his former CMO was on seaQuest, and in what capacity.
"Why? Is she ok? She wasn't hurt-"
Wendy rolled her eyes. "You need to calm down. Her wounds were minor. She testified and then was released to seaQuest."
"Why?"
"Commander Ford requested permission to appoint her head of the science staff for this assignment."
"And what assignment is that?"
Wendy didn't answer and Nathan could feel his agitation growing. "What aren't you telling me?"
"She can't, Nathan," Admiral Noyce walked in and dismissed Wendy with a nod of his head. "Thank you Doctor. I'll call if your assistance is needed."
Nathan turned his full attention on his old friend and didn't even watch Wendy leave the room.
"Bill. . . "
"It's good to see you awake, my friend. You gave us quite a scare."
In the back of his mind, Nathan remembered that he should ask about the status of his crew, but there was an overwhelming nagging that overrode that request.
"Bill, why is Kristin-"
"Now Nathan, you've been out of it for the last few days."
Blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Where are they going?"
Nathan noted that the man didn't answer his question. "And you have to understand that some important decisions were made while you've been here."
Nathan had never beaten around the bush with his friend before and he definitely wasn't going to start now. "Where and why, Bill?"
"It's classified."
Nathan rolled his eyes. "You know damn well if I wasn't lying in this bed, I would be on seaQuest right now. You'd better damn well tell me what's going on."
"No – you wouldn't be."
"What?"
"I'm sure you would have resigned over what UEO Command has asked of seaQuest and her crew."
His hands began to tremble ever so slightly. "Bill, why is Kristin on my boat?"
"I agreed to let Ford take her."
"Why?"
"She's a top scientist in her field and has been studying the chemicals the South American Confederation has been developing."
"And?"
"She's on seaQuest right now working on a way to neutralize it."
"Before. . . ?" Nathan prompted. He didn't like the direction this conversation was heading.
"Before seaQuest reaches optimum firing range."
Nathan stared hard at his friend. "You're going to fire on a member confederation?"
"Their membership was revoked this morning. They've been thrown out of the UEO and we've got carriers on the way to enforce the embargo."
"Then why is seaQuest -" Nathan stopped. His eyes scanned Noyce's. "Firing depth . . . optimum range . . . " He pinned his old friend in place with a steely look. "Bill. No."
Noyce raised his hands as if to avoid some fiery onslaught. "The decision was unanimous. The scientist's research indicated that nothing could eradicate this chemical weapon. We've been left with no other option but-"
"Are you out of your damned minds!?" Nathan's voice echoed around the room and the monitors above his head began to chime loudly. "You can't let seaQuest fire a nuclear missile into - well, anywhere! Jonathan, he can't do it. This would kill him. No, you can't order him to do this!" Nathan was agitated now, and the terminal that monitored his vital signs had begun to rise quickly.
A doctor and a nurse hurried into the room and began to examine their patient. All the while Nathan ignored them and continued to rant at his friend.
"Bill, this could start a nuclear war!"
Nathan batted the doctor's hands away as cold fingers touched the bandages around his chest.
Noyce stepped back and let the medical personnel attend to the ranting man. "Nathan, let the doctors. . . "
"Bill, how could you agree to this?!" Nathan's arm twitched when the nurse checked his shoulder wound. "Ow!" But he only briefly glared at the woman before pinning Noyce again. "Kristin is on board for gods sakes!"
"I thought you two were done."
Nathan rolled his eyes and growled, "Only because you've had her at the bottom of the ocean for the last two years!"
Noyce shook his head and Nathan could see, even though he was angrier than he'd been in a long, long time that his friend hadn't agreed with this decision. "You have to stop them, Bill."
"I can't, Nathan. You know that."
The two men glanced at the doctor when he cleared his throat.
"Whatever is agitating Captain Bridger needs to stop, now. His injuries are still quite severe."
"I'll leave," Noyce offered quickly.
"No. You. Will. Not," Nathan demanded with a low growl.
He ignored the look the nurse and doctor exchanged with one another. Bill was in his uniform which clearly indicated he held a higher rank than the man in the bed.
"Bill, you have to find another way!" Out of the corner of his eyes, Nathan saw the doctor nod almost imperceptively to his nurse, but he was so focused on Bill, that his mind didn't put together what had been done until it was too late. Almost immediately, he felt his eyes begin to droop and he turned an accusing glare on the doctor. "What did you do?"
"You need to rest, Captain, and if the only way to get you to do so is to sedate you, then so be it."
"Damnit, you can't do this!" Nathan tried to rise from the bed but the pain that shot through his chest and shoulder prevented any chance of success. His chest tightened and he leaned back to take a few deep breaths, before lifting his head to glare at Noyce. "Bill, please."
"The decision has been made, Nathan. I had no choice."
Horror crossed Nathan's face even has his breathing began to slow. "You delivered the order." It wasn't a question.
The last thing Nathan saw before his eyes fell closed was the regret swimming in his friend's sympathetic gaze.
Kristin paced in front of the table as she waited for the results of her latest test to come back. She rubbed the back of her neck with a blue gloved hand, trying desperately to relax the muscles that had tightened over the last few days. She'd been working for nearly twelve hours straight and had very little success to show for it.
The time displayed on the wall clock made her sigh heavily. Now she had less than an hour to come up with an alternate solution to using the heat from a nuclear blast to eradicate a chemically engineered weapon.
Her eyes slipped closed and she groaned. Even though her thoughts were consumed with finding a solution to this problem, she found herself thinking every so often about how Nathan and the rest of the seaQuest crew were faring at New Cape Quest.
Miguel Ortiz and their chief of security had been injured fairly badly as well, and she felt a momentary pang of guilt that she'd hadn't seen them before she'd left. She knew Miguel from her first tour, though she'd never spent a great deal of time with him. And, of course, she'd become quite accustomed to having Brody escort her all around seaQuest when the sub had picked her up a few days ago. Her heart doubled over in her chest when she thought about them. She didn't even know if they were still alive.
"You'd better be, Nathan," she murmured to herself. "I'll kill you if you die before I get back there."
A small chime indicated her latest round of testing had been completed. She removed several vials from her test tube tray and began to examine them. One by one, they were discarded until only one was left in her hand. She didn't have any other options and she was certainly out of time; if this one didn't give her the results she needed –
Kristin squinted at the slide when the requisite residue she'd seen on the other slides wasn't present on this one. She mixed more of the compound and then swirled it around, holding her breath as the chemicals merged and then began to disintegrate.
"Thank God!" Kristin hurried to the wall unit and opened a comm. channel. "Commander I need you in med bay immediately!"
"Doctor?" she could hear the hesitant hope in his answering tone.
"I think so, Commander. Just get down here right away!"
She clicked off the unit and returned to her desk, hoping against all hope that the powers that be would delay the nuclear launch long enough for her to manufacture a larger quantity of anti-toxin, something that could be delivered via a less destructive method.
TBC
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