Chapter 12

Chip and Patterson cleared the front of the Seaview and prepared to leave the water. Once in the air Chip headed in the direction of the coordinates he had plotted. The gale force wind buffeted the little sub so Chip decided to run submerged until they got close to the islands they were going to fly over. It took them almost two hours to get to the area. Chip took to the air and flew over the Near Islands. It was hard to see the ground with the fog and low hanging clouds. Chip headed for Attu, the largest island in the Near Islands. It was once a base for the Coast Guard, so he thought maybe they may have landed there but after flying over the island, they saw nothing. Chip and Patterson flew over the rest of the Near Islands and didn't see any signs of a plane or crash. They headed for Buldir Island and then the Rat Islands. After searching for another two hours, they found no signs of a plane crash. The winds had subsided somewhat but they still had a hard time controlling FS-1. Chip and Patterson were tired by the time they were ready to return to Seaview. "FS-1 to Seaview," Chip called using the throat mike.

"Skipper, I have a call from FS-1," Sparks said over the mic.

"Seaview," Lee answered immediately. "Chip did you spot anything?"

"No Lee, not a thing. We're heading back, we should be there in an hour."

"Okay, Chip. We'll be waiting," Lee said stowing the mic in its holder. "Kowalski, keep an eye on FS-1 and open the dock doors when they're close.

"Aye sir," Kowalski replied noticing the dejected tone in Lee's voice. He turned back to the observation nose and looked at Sharkey and Janet. They were unhappy at what Chip reported. Lee felt the docking doors opening and knew Kowalski must have FS-1 on his sonar screen and was close enough for berthing. Lee spotted FS-1 as she went under Seaview to dock. Sharkey went over to the hatch and opened it up when the wheel finished turning. Chip came back on board with his tie loosened and top button of his shirt undone. He and Patterson both looked exhausted.

"You okay," Lee asked them once they were on the deck in the observation nose.

"Just tired," Chip replied as he removed his jacket and handed it to Patterson who would put it away for him. "The strong winds made steering her hard to control. It was hard to see for the low hanging clouds and fog not to mention watching out for the volcanoes."

Lee rubbed his forehead, "Thanks Chip. Why don't you go to the wardroom," he suggested as it was 1300 hours and knew he would be hungry. "I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

"Thanks Lee. I could sure use a cup of coffee," Chip replied as he walked through the control room, out the aft hatch and down the passageway to the wardroom.

"Chief, be ready to leave at 1400 hours," Lee told him as he and Janet walked to the plotting table and turned the conn over to O'Brien.

"Aye, aye sir," Sharkey reported as he walked over to Riley at radar. "Be ready to leave at 1400 hours," he told Riley.

"Yes sir," Riley replied checking his watch making sure of the time.

Before leaving for the wardroom, Lee stopped at the sonar console, "Any metal contact, Ski?" Lee asked as they had been searching the bottom for anything metal that could come from an airplane.

"Sorry sir, nothing," Kowalski replied softly removing his ear phones.

"Keep looking," Lee said as he walked toward the aft hatch with Janet following behind him.

"Aye sir," Ski answered as he put the earphones back on and tuned in a couple of the dials.

((()))

When Lee and Janet entered the wardroom, Chip already had a grilled cheese sandwich half eaten along with a half a cup of coffee. Lee and Janet sat down and one of the mess specialists brought them a sandwich and some coffee.

"The weather seems to be clearing up. The further west we got the weather was a little better but it's still windy. After reading up on the Aleutian's that's a normal occurrence," Chip told Lee. "The storm that's been raging for the last six days is unusual even for this area according to my research."

Lee put down his sandwich after eating only half of it. Jamie came in to check with Chip on how his flight went and saw Lee push his plate away. He sat down and pushed it back to him. "Eat or you don't go out tomorrow," Jamie informed him.

"Jamie, I'm just not hungry," Lee quipped as he took a gulp of coffee and motioned for the mess specialist to bring him some more.

"You can't and won't live on coffee alone," Jamie insisted glaring at Lee.

"Yes, Jamie," Lee replied taking the plate back and another bite of his sandwich smirking at Jamie as he did.

((()))

Sharkey and Riley were getting ready to board the flying sub when Lee, Chip and Janet entered the control room. "Be careful and watch the wind," Lee reminded them as they walked to the observation nose. He made sure they had the coordinates Chip plotted along with a map.

Sharkey went down the ladder and was strapping in as Riley followed him down and he also strapped in. Chip closed and secured the hatch.

"Ready kid," Sharkey said to Riley.

"Let's go," Riley replied.

Sharkey flipped the switches, started up FS-1 and put on the throat mike. "Ready to launch, Skipper," Sharkey said into the mike.

Lee gave the command to launch FS-1. Lee, Chip and Janet watched as FS-1 sailed away from the sub. Chip and Lee went back to the plotting table and would wait for Sharkey to report in. Janet stayed in the observation nose and sat down in a chair staring out the windows as Seaview made her way in the water.

((()))

Sharkey headed for the Andreanof Islands. It was still very windy but they didn't want to stop searching even though the little sub was being blown around. They had been gone for three hours and did not see anything resembling an airplane on the ground. They flew over Adak Island were there once was a Naval air station hoping they maybe landed there but spotted nothing.

"FS-1 to Seaview," Sharkey called.

"Seaview," Lee replied. "Anything?"

"No sir. Nothing at all," Sharkey replied with disappointment. "We've searched all the islands and are returning to Seaview."

"Okay Chief," Lee responded still holding the mic in his hand. He finally stowed it back in its holder and stood staring at the admiral's 'front porch'.

While he stood there, Sparks told him he had Angie on the line. Lee exhaled deeply as he didn't want to tell her they hadn't found the admiral or any trace of him.

"Put it in the observation nose," Lee asked as he walked over to the table in there and picked up the mic.

"Hi Lee, did you find him," she asked anxiously.

"Sorry Angie, nothing so far."

"Oh Lee," she said softly. "I was hoping you had some good news and were heading back."

"Not just yet," Lee replied, "but I'm afraid we'll have to come back soon."

"You do have a mission scheduled for next week," she reminded him. "The admiral wanted to make this trip to Bali to check out a problem at a fish hatchery. Also Edith has returned from Africa. I told her about the admiral and she's flying out to Santa Barbara. She should be here later today. I'm going to pick her up at the airport."

"I remember the mission," Lee told Angie. "I'll let you know when we're returning. Give Edith our love." Lee terminated the connection and saw his wife looking at him. He sat down next to her and took her hand in his. They sat there for a few minutes before Kowalski said that FS-1 was returning.

Lee stood up and Chip walked over to the hatch and waited for Sharkey and Riley to climb out. He could see they looked tired too. "Sorry Skipper," Riley said as they walked to the control room. Both their watches were over and they headed to their quarters.

((()))

While the men of Seaview were still trying to find the admiral, the men on the island were struggling to keep warm. They only had enough wood for one more fire. They were arguing as to when they should make it.

"I say tonight," Jiggs slurred. Brandon and Hugh were so tired, they didn't care. All they wanted to do was sleep. Harry and Vladimir finally agreed with him just to shut him up.

Harry knew they were starting to display the symptoms of mild hypothermia. Maybe if they got warm tonight they would stand a better chance of fighting off the more severe form. Vladimir took the last batch of wood and made the fire. The five men huddled around it. They ran out of food yesterday but still had plenty of water. They heated the water and drank it hoping it would warm them up. After a few minutes they laid close together and even closer to the fire and fell asleep.

((()))

Chip and Lee walked back to the control room while Janet went up the spiral staircase to their cabin to get ready for dinner. Lee turned over the conn to O'Brien and Taper. As he and Chip walked to the control room Lee had made a decision he knew no one would like.

"Chip, after Ski and I search the rest of the islands if we don't find anything, we're going to have to face the fact that he's been lost. We've been searching the bottom and can't find any metal contact so we have to assume the plane must have blown up and the wreckage scattered across the ocean or islands. We're going to have to head home."

Chip looked at Lee and could tell he didn't want to have to make that decision but they couldn't look forever. "I agree. We could search every island on foot and still not find anything."

"I'll tell the crew after I come back from my search but I want to tell Janet first then Jamie my decision."

"Okay, Lee," Chip said as they entered the wardroom and saw Janet sitting at the table where Lee sat down next to her. None of them were hungry but let Cookie put some soup and crackers in front of them. The three of them took a couple of spoons of soup before they got up to leave. Putting their dishes away, they walked out of the wardroom. Chip headed to his cabin. Janet was going to their cabin as she knew Lee was going to take his walk around.

"Janet, would you please come with me on my walk around? I need to tell you something," Lee said as he took her hand and they walked down the passageway towards the missile room. Lee checked with the men in there and then they made their way to the reactor room, engine room, and circuitry room before heading to the Admiral's lab. While the admiral was away Lee always made sure his fish in the specimen tanks were fed. If he wasn't available Janet would do it. She had no idea what most of the fish were even though the admiral had told her the species several times. She only knew the two angel fish and named them Bonnie and Clyde. She walked over to their tank and they quickly went to the surface where Janet gave them two pinches of food.

"Lee what do you need to tell me," she asked softly as she watched them eat. Clyde always ate most of the food. She could tell them apart as Clyde was a little bigger than Bonnie.

"If Kowalski and I don't find any signs of the plane crash tomorrow, we're going to head back to Santa Barbara. We've searched most the islands and the ocean floor where the plane might have gone down. We have to face the fact he's not going to be found," Lee told her standing next to her as she tapped on the glass and the fish came over to her.

As tears streamed down her face, she faced Lee. "I understand." He took her into his arms and wrapped them around her while she cried. He had to be strong for her and the rest of the crew but knew he would have to accept that he had lost his 'father'.

Lee walked Janet back to their cabin on his way to the control room to make a final check before going to see Jamie. O'Brien and Taper had Seaview on a plateau at one hundred feet. "We'll stay here for the night," Lee told them. "Any problems, just call."

"Yes, sir," they replied as they watched him leave the control room out the aft hatch. They looked at each other and knew their captain had a lot on his mind.

Lee's last stop for the night was Sick Bay. He walked in finding Jamie at his desk finishing up some paperwork. Jamie looked up and was surprised to see him. "Everything okay, Lee?" he asked putting down his pen as Lee rarely came into Sick Bay voluntarily. He looked at him and figured he needed to tell him something and it wasn't good. Lee sat down in the chair next to Jamie's desk.

"Kowalski and I are going out to search the last part of the Aleutian Islands for the admiral. If we don't find him on this search..." Lee paused having a hard time continuing. "...we're going to return to Santa Barbara. We've searched most the islands and most of the ocean floor where they lost contact with the plane. Damn it, Jamie, we've found nothing. Not even a piece of metal," Lee told him running his hand through his hair. "We can't stay any longer. We have to return for a mission the Admiral took on as a special favor for a friend of his."

Jamie put his hand on Lee's arm. "I understand. Lee, it's been a week and unless they're out of the elements..."

"I realize that Jamie but I'm going to look at this last set of islands so I know in my heart I...we did everything possible to find him."

"Lee, you have done everything in your power to find him," Jamie reassured him.

"Thanks for the pep talk," Lee smiled as they stood up. "Don't work too much longer," he told Jamie as he turned and walked out of Sick Bay. Jamie watched Lee leave and go up the stairs to his cabin. "Shit," Jamie thought as he put his paperwork away and left Sick Bay for his cabin.