Dead Man Walking
By Aunty Pasta
Disclaimer: The characters in this story do not belong to me but to Amblin and Steven Spielburg. I am only borrowing them for the fun of it. This story takes place almost immediately after the third season episode, "Spindrift" in which Lt. Brody is killed. I hated the fact that they killed off one of my favorite characters, so I discovered a story line to bring him back from the dead. The following is the result.
***************************************
It was incredibly cold and dark where he was. He felt like his eyes didn't work, but he finally made the realization that they did. He was zipped inside some kind of cold plastic bag. The zipper was open just enough for him to get his finger in the gap to unzip the metal zipper. Light poured through the hole.
He realized that he was dressed in only a pair of cotton camouflage pants. 'So that's why I'm cold,' was his first thought. His second thought was, 'Who am I?'
He pulled himself from the cold bag and looked around the dim room. He lay on a stretcher in the center of the room. Letting himself down from the stretcher, he stumbled to the door and out into the mazes of corridors until he found a long window. Exotic fish swam in the miles of clear water on the other side of the window.
He wandered around in the undersea colony until his body gave out and he collapsed in a heap. Captured in a coma.
***************************************
Deenie Whatts was celebrating her 25th birthday and ten years of scientific study with a Ph.D. in Oceanography and Biology. She was brilliant and beautiful and she spent her free time fighting for harsher laws to preserve earth's oceans. Even with such an exciting cause to work for, Deenie's life was boring.
She worked in the underwater lab SeaLab II. SeaLab II was one of 2 underwater labs sanctioned by the UEO. They were far from the excitement of the Macronesion conflict and even further from UEO headquarters. Excitement was about to pay Deenie and her colleagues a little visit.
"Deenie," said the voice of the head of SeaLab, Mars Cooper, over the intercom. "You are needed in the med center. By the way, happy birthday."
Deenie shook her head with a grin. "I'm a lab tech. Not a doctor," she said as she headed that direction.
Upon arrival at the med center, she found a comatose patient under the care of their physician. A John Doe since they didn't know his name.
"What do you need me for?" Deenie asked. "I am a lab tech."
"You're also a psychic," said Dr. Allen Muller.
"I don't use..."
"Deenie listen. He came in with only a pair of pants on. No shirt, no shoes, no ID. And no name," Muller said. "He has burn marks on his chest. They have healed a bit, but he needs some time to heal properly."
"You want me to do a mind probe to find out who he is," Deenie said.
"That, and then there's this." Muller pulled up a microscope with a slide in it for Deenie to look into.
It was a standard blood sample. Red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma. Then there was something strange. There was some kind of virus that Deenie had never seen before intermingling amongst the cells.
She lifted her head sharply. "What is it?"
"I thought you might like to find out," Muller said.
Deenie nodded and moved into the room which held the patient. He was a handsome blonde-haired man in his late twenties. He was also surrounded by machines with wires sticking to and in his arms. Deenie stepped up beside him and took his hand.
Her mind crept past the barriers and moved inside. Pain ran rampant in this mind. A woman's face, and the words, 'with my shield or on it' swam around there. Otherwise there was only darkness and grief.
Deenie pulled back into her own mind, tears streaming down her face, to find that an hour had passed. Wondering where it had gone, she released the man's hand and looked up into his open eyes. Panicked, Deenie started to back out of the room.
"Wait," he said reaching out to her. "I need you to tell me who I am."
"We don't know," Deenie said. "Uh, I don't know."
"I can't remember anything at all," he told her.
Deenie took a step closer. "I know."
Puzzled he asked he why. "I did a mind probe. "I'm sorry. Usually I won't do them unless I have permission from the person I'm probing."
"Did you find anything?"
Deenie debated for a moment before answering. "No," she said.
The man watched he for a minute. "Can you find out who I am?"
"I can take some blood to do a DNA sampling," Deenie explained. "We'll do a crosscheck and see what we can find out. Right now, I'd better go get the doctor who has been treating you."
Deenie left the room. "He's awake," she told Dr. Muller. "He wants to know who he is."
"What did you find out?"
"Not much," was the reply. "There was a lot of pain, and a woman's face. And I could hear him say to her, 'with my shield or on it'."
Muller looked puzzled. "What exactly does that mean?"
"You need to read up on your ancient mythology, Doctor," Deenie said. "In Roman times, if a man ran away in battle, he would fling his shield away to get away faster. When a soldier fought bravely and was killed in battle, his comrades would bring his body to his family laying on the shield. I think it was mentioned in the book, The Red Badge of Courage."
Muller nodded. "Did you tell him this?"
"No," Deenie told him. "Send me some samples of his blood so I can study that bacteria you found. Maybe I can find out what it has done to him."
"Done," Muller told her. "I'll have them to you before the day is out."
***************************************
Captain Oliver Hudson was not looking forward to doing what he had to do. A few short weeks had passed since the death of Lieutenant Jim Brody. He had died in their rescue of Lt. Loni Henderson from the Macronesion government. She had been arrested for kidnapping, but the charges had been changed to smuggling and the sentence had been death. Brody had lept in front of a Macronesion weapon aimed at Loni and Hudson, effectively giving his life to save them.
Brody had asked that, in the case of his death, his body be placed in cryogenic freeze until such a time as his mother was able to be brought out to be inoculated of the virus she had died from. Hudson could understand the logic of this move. Brody's body had been sent to SeaLab II to be transferred to the facility where his mother was sleeping her cryogenic slumber. That's where it had disappeared. Waiting in a cold storage room for the transport to take him to the mainland, the body simply disappeared from the room. Stolen, most likely, by the Macronesions.
Brody's friends, people who had considered themselves family, were sitting around the table in the ward room when he told them. They were shocked to say the least. Henderson began crying and Commander Ford held her tightly. The others were silent and angry.
"How could anyone steal a man's body?" Lucas said with disbelief.
"Alexander Borne is just that kind of man," Loni said through her tears. "I saw the cruelty first hand."
After a bit of silence, Captain Hudson spoke quietly. "I wish we could find a way to get it back. But we don't even have the proof that Borne arranged the theft of Brody's body."
After a few more minutes of silence, Hudson spoke again. "Let's get back to work. We don't want them to see that it affects us." He paused. "Even though it does."
***************************************
President Alexander Borne was sleeping in a huge bed with a voluptuous, and very naked, woman. Her golden hair was spread out on the bed along her back and over Borne's shoulder. Borne was the picture of relaxation; the recent incident with the Henderson woman all but forgotten for now.
The knock on the door pulled Borne from his enjoyment and back into the present. As he pulled on his robe, the figure in the bed stirred.
"Government business, Alex?" she asked.
"That's what it sounds like, my dear," he replied. "Go back to sleep."
She stretched and snuggled down into the bed as Borne wrapped his robe around him and left the room to join his general, Armand Stassi, in the hall. Borne invited him to walk down the corridor along side him.
"What is it?" Borne asked. "You are interrupting my rest."
"You remember Lieutenant James Brody?" Stassi asked. At Borne's nod he continued. "Then you also remember that he was killed in the rescue perpetrated by the members of the seaQuest crew of Loni Henderson."
Borne nodded again. "What has this to do with me?"
"His body was to be taken to a cryogenic lab on the American mainland," Stassi told him. "It seems it disappeared on it's way there."
"Where did you get this information?"
"Deon sent it," Stassi replied. "There's more."
They stopped walking in the corridor and Borne looked at the general. "Go on."
"The press has speculated that you ordered the body stolen," he said. "They allege that you have done such a thing to spite Hudson, McGath and the whole UEO."
Borne laughed haughtily. "It is probably a hoax thought up by Hudson and his crew as their revenge. They stole the body themselves." Borne paused to think for a moment. "Please put a call through to Mr. Deon. I want him to find that body for me. That way, Hudson will look like a fool and I will be proven innocent of any allegations."
***************************************
Dark hair and dark eyes topped off the gorgeous woman who was giving Larry Dion a massage. Her left cheek was decorated with the Dion Corporation tattoo, designating her as an employee. She moved her hands gracefully along his back, then pressed her lips to his spine. Deon moaned softly then rolled over to take her in his arms. He kissed her lips and pulled at her shirt before he heard someone clearing his throat.
Deon broke the contact. "What is it, Freeman?" he said as he stroked the woman's body through her shirt.
"President Borne would like to speak to you," he said.
Deon broke away from the woman and shooed her away. "Tell him I'll be there in a minute."
After a short, cold shower Deon sat behind his desk. President Borne was on the screen in front of him. "What can I do for you now?" he said.
"This is about the recent bit of news you sent me," he said. "About the theft of the UEO officer's body..."
"Of course," Deon said. "What about it?"
"The reports of my taking the body are false," Borne told him. "I want you to find it and prove them wrong. I'll pay whatever you want."
"Actually, Mr. President," Deon said. "I'll do it gratis."
"That is unusually charitable of you, Mr. Deon."
"It is, isn't it," Deon replied smugly then cut off the call.
"Borne is right, it is unusually charitable of you," said Mr. Freeman, who had witnessed the entire scene. "What's in it for you?"
"The ridicule of Oliver Hudson, of course," Deon replied. "If Borne did not arrange the disappearance of Brody's body, then Hudson must have done it to make Borne look bad. If we can find the Lieutenant's corpse, we can turn the tables on the good captain and make him look bad."
When Freeman nodded his understanding, Deon went on, "Get my best people on it."
Freeman nodded again and left the room. Deon leaned back in his comfortable office chair and laughed.
***************************************
"I found a match," said Marsha 'Mars' Cooper. "But I don't think it could be him."
She was walking down the corridor next to Deenie Whatts. "Why couldn't it?" Deenie asked.
"All there was was name and birth date," Mars said. "And the death date. Besides that the man down in the med center is ten years younger than this man."
"What is the name?"
"James Brody."
"And there was nothing else in the records?"
"Nothing. Not family name, not last job. Nothing."
Deenie thought for a minute. "I feel like that's who this man is," she said emphatically. "I feel it."
Mars nodded. When Deenie felt something, she was usually right.
"Now if we could find out what happened to him to cause the memory block," Deenie said. "And why his records were erased."
"I could look into it," Mars said as a young UEO ensign came up to them. "What is it?" she said to the young man.
"The John Doe is asking for Dr. Whatts," he said.
"I'll be there is a minute," Deenie told him.
He saluted smartly and walked away. "Do you want to tell him?" Mars asked.
"Yeah, I'll tell him," Deenie said as she parted company and headed down to the med center.
James Brody was awake and coherent when Deenie came in the room. "Have they found a match?"
"Yep," Deenie said. "You are James Brody age thirty-nine."
He nodded. "At least I have a name. What else?"
"There is nothing else," Deenie told him. "Except that you are supposed to be dead."
"I don't look dead," James said. "Do I?"
Deenie shook her head as she pulled his chart from its holder. She looked down the list of injuries and discovered that, twenty-four hours after he had been found with fairly serious burns on his chest, they were gone and he was perfectly healthy. Except, of course, for the memory problem.
"Have you remembered anything?"
Brody shook his head. "Just the ocean."
Deenie nodded. "I need to take a look at your chest,"she said.
Brody started to unbutton his shirt. "This isn't a pass, is it?"
Deenie laughed. "I don't think you are in any condition for a pass, mister. I want to take a look at the burns you came in with."
With his shirt opened he lay watching as she traced the burn scars in mazes around his chest. Her fingers were cool against his skin but they burned into his soul.
Deenie was looking at the scars, but was paying attention to his breathing. It had sped up a bit since she began the exam. Now she noticed her own breathing starting to speed up. She pulled her hand away and closed his shirt.
"Thank you," she said before turning to leave the room.
"Wait," he called after her.
"What is it?"
He was silent for a moment. It was a short moment, but it was long enough for Deena to see what he was thinking. What he had been about to say.
"Nothing," he said. That defiantly wasn't it.
Deenie nodded then left.
***************************************
The microbes on the other end of Deenie's microscope were extremly foreign. They had been taken from James Brody's bloodstream. The strange thing was they didn't harm him by being there. Deenie had discovered that they actually helped. Her theory was that they shut down all of his body functions so that they could heal him. This resulted in a deathlike state and the mistaken notion that he was, indeed, dead. She theorized that their attempts to revive him had resulted in damage to his brain which in turn caused the memory loss.
Deenie thought about what a disaster could come of this microbe. Accidental death and murder could be avoided completely with a vaccine made from the microbes, not to mention the fact that war could be waged with men being killed over and over again. It could heal, but the cost was not worth the price. So Deenie destroyed the samples and any files she had in the lab before going to the med center to attempt kidnapping.
In her hurry, she missed one file. Alan Peters found it and read it through before contacting someone about selling the secret.
***************************************
"I'm quitting," Deenie told Mars who was on the screen in a vid booth. "Mr. Brody showed an interest in coming with me and he's in good health, so I've brought him with me."
"You loved this job!" Mars said.
"Things change," she replied.
"It's him," Mars realized. "You've got feelings for him and he convinced you to run away with him."
Deenie shook her head. "That's not it," she said. "I can't talk about it."
Mars nodded. "OK, fine. I'll accept your resignation on one condition. That you promise to call me when you get to where you're going and take care of yourself."
"It's a deal," Deenie replied before Mars waved one last time and shut down the connection.
"I wish you could tell her," Brody said.
"So do I," Deenie replied. "But we can't take the chance that this could get leaked out before we find out where you got the microbe."
"And where I belong," James said and took Deenie in his arms. They were out in the middle of the San Diego Island sub port, but he didn't care. His kissed her deeply before he released her. "Thanks for caring."
Deenie was numb. "Thanks for the kiss," she replied.
***************************************
Deenie had friends in Florida. The problem was getting from ocean front Arizona to there with little money. Deenie had a way, so they checked into a cheap hotel. James waited for her there.
Several hours passed, and Deenie didn't return, so James decided to take a shower and go find her. Ten minutes later he came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist to find Deenie laying on the bed on her stomach with a stack of bills.
"I got money," Deenie said.
"Where did you get all of that money?" James asked.
"Don't worry about it," she replied. "It's something I can do anywhere. We'll make it."
James started to go back into the bathroom. "Wait a minute. You weren't....."
Deenie was shocked. "I would never....! I sang at a night club. They liked it is all." She held up the money. "With this money, we should be able to buy tickets for a sub shuttle."
Deenie sat up and James, still clad in only a towel, came to sit by her. She pulled a shuttle schedule out of the front pocket of her jeans and unfolded it.
"You take a look at the schedule, while I get a shower," she said as she handed him the paper. "When I get done, we can plan out our next course of action."
Deenie went into the bathroom and took her shower. The gentle rhythm of the spray pelted her hair, soothing the tightness of the muscles in her shoulders and the stress of not knowing what would happen next. Deenie hadn't realized how much she loved her work at SeaLab, but she had to do what was right. She came out of the bathroom in a terry robe to see James lounging on the bed in his towel; the tightness in her shoulders returned.
Rubbing her shoulder with one hand she caught his attention. She sat next to him and listened at he told her of a good course that would get them to Florida. That's when he took her in his arms again.
"I don't know what it is," he said. "But I really need you." He began to kiss her passionately.
"I need you too," she said when he came up for air. "But I've never..."
He stopped. "Never?"
She shook her head and he began to plant kisses down her neck.
"My work...," she sighed feeling guilty about the lie she was telling.
"I understand," he whispered as he found her lips again. "I'll be gentle."
***************************************
Freeman went into Larry Deon's office followed by another man with lighter skin.
"You're supposed to be out looking for Brody's corpse," Deon said.
"I followed it to SeaLab II," Freeman said. "You're going to want to hear this."
"Can I make money from it?" Deon asked, leaning forward.
"Mountains of it," said the man who was with Freeman. "My Name is Alan Peters. And Mr. Brody is NOT a corpse."
"How is that possible?"
Peters pulled some papers out of his jacket pocket. "I think you'll find this interesting." He handed them to Deon.
Deon looked at the papers. "This microbe sounds... interesting. And this is why Mr. Brody is not as dead as we've heard?"
"Exactly," Peters said.
"Can you get samples of this thing for my people to study?"
Peters shook his head. "She destroyed everything else. The only way you are going to get sample is to find Deenie and the lieutenant."
Deon looked at Freeman. "You don't even have to say anything. I'm on my way," Freeman said as he left the room.
***************************************
"In other words," Deenie said. "I found out a little bit about your past."
"Lots of words for little meaning," James replied. "What did you find?"
"I did a multi-global search and dump. You were a member of the seaQuest crew."
James nodded. "Where did you find that?"
Deenie adjusted in her seat aboard the underwater shuttle and ran her fingers through her hair. "About nine or ten months ago seaQuest reappeared after a ten year disappearance. It was a media event. Your name was mentioned in one of the articles along with Nathan Bridger, Jonathan Ford, Lucas Wolenczek, Loni Henderson, and Tim O'Niell. Do you remember any of those names? Do they feel familiar to you?"
James slowly repeated each name then shook his head. "I don't think so."
Deenie sighed and leaned back in her chair. "When we get to Forgotten Shore maybe we can contact someone who can get us to seaQuest. I have some contacts. Maybe they can pull some strings."
James put his arms around her and pulled her closer. Neither one of them noticed the dark man a row back who leaned back into his chair with a light smile.
***************************************
Deenie was coming out of the bathroom when he grabbed her. She couldn't see his face, but she did see the Deon company tattoo on his hand. She struggled for several minutes before she hit him hard between his legs and was able to free herself. He had let go of her, but he still clung to her hand. That's when James came to Deenie's rescue and pulled her out of his grasp.
The man took a swing at James, but he ducked. James hit the man in the side eliciting a grunt from him. The man swung again, this time he connected with the side of James' head, then another to the nose. James swung again hitting the man in the stomach and knocking the air out of him. The man gasped for breath as James stood in a ready stance, protecting Deenie.
"I'm not done with this," the black man said. "When Deon wants something, he gets it!"
A crowd had gathered around them. "I'll be ready for you," James replied. "Now get the hell out of here!"
The man, Freeman, was hustled to his feet by an officer and pushed away.
"You OK?" James asked Deenie.
Deenie nodded. "You're face is covered with blood. Let's go somewhere to get it cleaned up," she said as a man came up behind them.
"I know you," he said to Jim.
"You do, huh," Jim replied. "From where?"
"seaQuest," he replied. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Benjamin Krieg. I was on seaQuest a few months ago, and you were there. What happened? Did you resign or something?"
"No actually," Deenie began. "It's a long story."
"I've got a place where you can get cleaned up. Come on." Krieg led them away from the docking port.
James and Deenie had landed in California Park in the Mexican Confederation's waters on the way to Florida. The next transport didn't leave for a few hours, so they were going to get a reasonable amount of sleep and a good hot meal. Plus, Deenie would be able to get a bit more cash. Things were much more expensive in the Caribbean.
Ben Krieg leg them to another docking port where a small private launch was docked. The launch had good enough comforts for a long trip, but it was run-down and old. In the main room was a comfortable couch which, Krieg said, folded out into a bed. There was a big tear in the back of it as well as several patches where it had been patched together. A rough looking quilt sat in a pile on the end. Boxes littered the room, but otherwise it was empty.
"Here it is," he said with a crooked smile. "Home sweet home." He pulled a first aid kit from a compartment and handed it to Deenie. "Here's the first aid kit."
He pointed out the bathroom and the cockpit to them, then left them explaining that he had to get supplies for the trip.
Deenie opened the kit's large case and was surprised to find that the kit was incredibly well stocked. It had everything from antibiotics to hypodermic needles. Deenie pulled some sterile cloths from the kit and began mopping the blood from Jim's face. When that was done, she bandaged them up and smiled at him.
"That should do it," she said. "According to my calculations, that will probably be healed by day after tomorrow. They're minor."
Jim grasped her hands. "I thought that man was going to kill you."
"Me too."
"Do something for me."
"Anything."
He picked up one of the hypodermic needles. "Take some of the microbes from my blood and put them into yours," he said.
Deenie sat down beside him. "Why?"
"Because I don't want you to get killed because of me," he replied.
"We're not even sure that's what he wants," Deenie replied and pulled up her sleeve showing a very dim Dion company tattoo. "He may just want me to come back to work for him."
"When...?"
"About two years ago my sister needed surgery and I didn't have the money. Deon offered to pay for it if I would do a little industrial espionage. I didn't want that tattoo marking up my face for all eternity, so he let me put it here. I don't think anyone else knows," she told him. "While I was doing Deon's dirty work, I realized that I have a conscience. I tried to ditch the project before it was done, but they had my sister killed and they threatened to have me killed, too."
Jim thought about it a bit. "I still want you to do this," he told her. "I couldn't bear the thought of losing you when I have something that could keep you safe."
Deenie put her forehead against his and sighed. She took the hypo that he had had in his hand and said, "All right. Roll up your sleeve."
The exchange was made when Krieg came back twenty minutes later. "Are you ready to make a long story short?" he said.
Deenie shook her head. "Not yet."
He shrugged. "OK, it's no skin off my back. I'll give you a ride if you want."
Deenie and Jim debated this back and forth for a minute before answering. "We want to split up," Jim said. "We think she's the one who they're after, so I'll take the shuttle to the next stop. She's going to go with you."
"OK," Krieg agreed. "What's the next stop?"
"New Cape Quest," Deenie replied. "Florida."
***************************************
Deenie sat in the co-pilot's seat looking out the window while Ben Krieg piloted the shuttle. "He really didn't want to go, did he?" Ben said.
"No," Deenie replied then shivered. "Is there any way we could see if there someone behind us?"
Ben flipped a switch. "There," he said, pointing to the screen that had lit up as a result. "Something wrong?"
Deenie looked at the monitor. "I just feel like someone's following us. Now that I think about it, I felt it on the shuttle, too."
"Is there?" Ben asked. "I should have told you that that thing might not be working."
Deenie looked back at him and was suddenly slammed into her seat.
"How did...?"
"Never mind right now," Deenie said.
Another blast knocked her forward and almost onto the floor. "I'm calling for assistance," she said. and picked up the radio receiver. A few minutes and several blasts later, she put it back down. "Help is on the way," she said.
Seconds later a blast his the propulsion system and both of them were thrown from their seats. Water began seeping in through a crack in the bulkhead. Ben got to his knees and crawled to Deenie's side where she was doubled over in pain.
"You OK?" he asked as a loud clang could be heard from the back.
Deenie nodded. "If I get worse, don't let them revive me," she told him. "It's very important that they don't revive me. You got that?"
Ben reached beneath Deenie's seat and pulled a weapon out. "Got it," he said. "Don't revive."
Deenie grasped his collar. "I'm serious!" she said. "Don't let them revive me! Promise?!
"Promise," he said and stood to head aft.
Deenie put her head down and rested, fighting for consciousness. She could feel hands on her, lifting her onto a stretcher and her head jerked up. Three officers dressed in UEO uniforms were putting her on their shuttle. She saw a patch on one of them. It read seaQuest DSV. She put her head back down and closed her eyes.
***************************************
They had made it to the seaQuest's sickbay before she lost complete consciousness. Ben stayed by her side even as the doctors and his friend Lucas tried to pull him away. when the heart monitor was hooked up, it started beeping the rhythm of her heart and Dr. Perry began to assess her condition.
"Damaged spleen, the kidney on that side is a mess," she said. "Several cracked ribs..."
She was listening to her breathing when one of Deenie's broken ribs punctured her lung due to her rapid breathing.
"Damn! Get me a scalpel," she ordered the nurse.
The nurse grabbed the scalpel and handed it to Perry. Perry had just found the hole when Deenie flatlined. "Damn!" she yelled again. "Start CPR!"
"No!" Ben tried to move forward but Lucas stood there with another nurse keeping him at bay. "She told me not to let anyone revive her. I don't know why, but she was insistent."
Doctor Perry looked at him for a few seconds then stepped back and pulled her gloves off. "If those are her wishes, I'll have to respect them." She turned to the nurse. "Put time of death as 14:62."
The nurse turned off the still humming heart monitor and covered her with the sheet. Ben watched for a minute before he allowed Lucas to drag him away.
"Why do you think she didn't want to be revived?" Lucas asked.
Ben shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I think it has something to do with the guy she was with. I remembered him from seaQuest last time I was here."
"What was his name?" Lucas asked, puzzled.
"Jim something or other," was the reply.
"Brody?"
Ben snapped. "That's it."
"Ben, he's dead," Lucas told him. "He died a few weeks ago."
"Well, I know it was him. He had some kind of memory loss, and couldn't remember who he was," Ben said. "Deenie said that a DNA test had proved he was definitely James Brody."
"Where is he now?" Lucas asked.
"On his way to New Cape Quest."
"I think we'd better talk to the captain."
***************************************
"So what you're saying is," Hudson was saying. "Lieutenant Brody is alive and well and on his way to New Cape Quest?"
"I think so," Ben replied. "Lucas showed me his picture, and it definitely looked like him."
Commander Ford was the next one to speak. "If this Deenie hadn't died, she could probably give us more details."
Hudson nodded. "Mr. Krieg since you were with her, why don't you go through her things and see if there's something there that will tell us something. In the meantime, set a course for New Cape Quest at best possible speed. We'll see if we can't catch up with them."
He was just about to dismiss them when Dr. Perry burst in the door. "She's not dead!" she exclaimed.
"What do you mean, 'she's not dead'?" Hudson asked.
"Standard procedure for doing autopsies," she began. "Is checking to make absolutely sure that the patient is dead. The check showed very faint life signs. So faint that you wouldn't notice unless you were really watching."
Hudson moved to stand in front of the doctor. "Did you do an autopsy on Brody?"
She looked at him bewildered. "No, he was scheduled to be placed in cryogenics. You don't perform an autopsy in those cases."
"Do a complete check and see if you can find out why Deenie is still alive," Hudson ordered.
Perry nodded and turned to go. "One other thing," Hudson said, stopping her. "See if you can find some parallel between the two. Anything. Blood type, injuries, eye color, favorite foods, I don't care. Do your best."
***************************************
Jim Brody had been waiting at the docking port for what seemed like years. There was no sign of the launch that carried his friends. He paced for hours before heading to the hospital where Deenie had told him her friend worked.
He asked for her by name at the front desk, then was led to an office that had 'chief of staff' written on a gold plate. He sat in one of the comfortable chairs that stood by the desk to wait. He didn't have to wait long.
"I'm Dr. Kristen Westphalen," she said with a light British accent. "What can I do for you."
"I was sent here by a mutual friend," Jim told the doctor as he stood.
She moved around the desk and sat down in the chair. "Who might that be?"
"Deenie Whatts."
Dr. Westphalin's face lit up. "Of course. I remember. How is she doing?"
"I'm not sure," Jim replied. "We split up in California Park. I took the scheduled transport while she went with a friend. We have something that could be dangerous if it gets in the wrong hands."
Westphalen leaned forward. "Could this friend be trusted?"
"Deenie is psychic," Jim said calmly. "She would know if he wasn't. She said that you might have contacts to get me to seaQuest.
"Yes, but that was a long time ago, and I'm not even sure they can do anything," Westphalen replied. "Why do you need to get on seaQuest?"
"I was part of her crew," he stated. "But they think I'm dead."
You wouldn't be Lieutenant James Brody, now would you?"
"As far as I know, yes," came the reply. "I suffered memory loss. Deenie thinks that it happened when they tried to revive me."
"Possible, but what are you talking about?"
Jim shook his head. "I'm not quite sure. Deenie knows more. It's something about a microorganism...."
***************************************
"....a microorganism," Dr. Perry told Hudson. "She's showing signs of consciousness, and she keeps babbling about it. And her injuries are gone, right down to the punctured lung and broken ribs."
"How can that happen?" Hudson asked.
I think it's the microorganism," she replied. "It has been regenerating her injuries. I don't know where she got it, but it's not from here. That I know."
Hudson thought for a while. "Not from here....," he mumbled. "Have you done any kind of blood tests on any other members of the crew? The ones who were 'in stasis' for all that time?"
"No, there hasn't been a need to," Perry replied. "Would you like me to order a complete blood work-up on them?"
"Yes," Hudson replied. "If they have this organism, report immediately. That leaves the question; How did miss Whatts obtain this organism?"
"When she is fully conscious, I'll ask her," Perry said and left to begin getting the blood samples.
***************************************
Deenie could feel her legs again. It seemed like it had been years since she could feel anything, but it had only been a short time.
Now she could feel herself breathing. Last thing she knew, it hurt to breathe, and now there was no pain, even when she took a deep breath.
Even as she began to feel again, she began to regain her other senses. She could hear the quiet whispers of the staff and smell the disinfectant in the air. She could taste the bad taste she always woke up with. It could be any ordinary morning, waking up from a restful sleep to get ready for a long day bent over a microscope. But this was horribly different, and as she remembered the events that had brought her to laying here in this bed, she remembered that she needed to be worried about Jim Brody.
She opened her eyes and sat straight up. Dr. Perry noticed and came over.
"How are you feeling," she asked.
"Where's Jim?" Deenie asked.
"That's what I wanted to ask you," the doctor replied.
"We split up," Deenie began murmuring. "I went with Ben while Jim went on the shuttle to Miami, then the bus to New Cape Quest. We were supposed to meet at the seaport there, but if I didn't arrive he was supposed to meet..." She stopped abruptly. "Doctor Kristen Westphalen at UEO Center Hospital. She was my mentor in college. And she used to serve on seaQuest. She knew Captain Bridger, and I had hoped she could go through him to get us there."
"To get you here," Perry corrected her. "You are on seaQuest."
Deenie seemed surprised. "I am? I don't remember." She shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs. "Short term memory loss must be a side effect."
"Of what," Perry asked gently. "The micro organism in your blood stream."
"Oh boy," she said as she lay back down on the bed. "How much do you know?"
***************************************
Nathan Bridger stood on the porch of the small house watching out to sea at the approaching speed boat. The house was a shack, really. He had lived here for a short time after Carol had died, and he lived here, again, with Robert's son, Nathan's grandson, Michael. Michael played in the sand with some toys as his grandfather stood watching the speedboat.
When it got close enough, he could see that it held two occupants, a man was driving with a woman next to him. When the boat slowed then slid neatly on the beach, he could see who it was and he did a definite double take.
Kristen Westphalen stood and waved; Michael waved back and ran to the boat. The man slid down the side and into the sand then walked around the front of the boat to help his companion down onto the beach where she hugged the boy then took his hand and led him to where his grandfather waited.
"Is it my imagination, or is this Lieutenant Brody," Nathan asked.
"Do I know you?" Jim asked.
"I'm Captain Bridger," he said, confused.
"Nathan, Mr. Brody has amnesia," Kristen explained. "We need to find a young woman named Deenie Whatts. She can explain the whole thing."
Nathan nodded. "I've spoken to her a couple of times over the vid link. She's a brilliant scientist. She was helping me find clues to my son's whereabouts."
"She and Jim split up because of an attack on Deenie at California Park," Kristen explained.
"She went with someone who had helped us after that incident," Jim told him.
"You trust him?" Nathan asked.
"Deenie trusted him," Jim replied. "She knows the right kind of people to trust. I thought Ben was a trustworthy sort, and he had a reason to dislike Dion and associates."
Kristen turned to him. "You never said anything about Dion being involved in the attack."
"I didn't think it was important."
"Dion has taken over almost all of the business dealings in the world, as well as some of the under the table stuff," Nathan said. "I'm not surprised that he would be involved. I can call a friend and find out about this guy who gave Deenie the ride. What was his name again?"
"Ben," Jim said. "Ben Krieg."
Nathan turned back to look a Kristen. "I don't think the background check will be necessary," he said with a chuckle. "I am pretty sure he could be trusted. That is if I know Ben Krieg like I know him."
Kristen chuckled as well. "Agreed," she said then explained to Jim, "Mr. Krieg was a crew member on seaQuest when I was CMO."
Jim nodded his understanding. "Where are they now? That's the question."
Nathan jerked his head indicating the open door behind him. "Let's find out."
Nathan turned and went into the shack with Jim, Kristen and Michael following.
***************************************
"I tried to grab her at California Park, but she got away," Freeman told Dion over the vid link. "I followed her out to sea, she got a ride with some guy, and attacked them, but seaQuest came along. She's on board."
"That was quite a foolish thing to do," Dion said. "You should have waited until they got to Florida. What about Brody? What happened to him?"
"They split up in CP, and I couldn't go after both of them, so I went after her. You did say she was more important."
Dion sighed. "Yes, I did. Now that she's on seaQuest, she'll probably tell them everything she knows."
Freeman was silent. He knew better than to apologize.
"I want you to find Brody at all costs," Dion said. "If things are like I think they are, It won't matter if he's dead or not." Dion thought for a moment. "Just don't decapitate him." He cut off the connection.
Freeman exited the vid booth and headed to the docks.
***************************************
Nathan helped Kristen out of the boat and onto the dock. Jim followed with Michael on his back then helped the boy to the ground where he grabbed his grandfather's hand. Not one from the group noticed that they were being followed. They chatted amiably as they made their way down the dock to a small parking lot and a car that was parked there. They got into the car and drove off. Freeman followed, waiting for his chance.
He glanced at the container on the seat next to him. It had an array of medicines which were strong enough to knock out a water buffalo. It just sat there, looking severe.
***************************************
Jim had separated himself from the others. Nature called, but when he came out of the bathroom, he felt pressure on his neck, heard a slight hiss, and fell to the floor unconscious. Freeman stepped up beside him and bent to check his vitals. Seeing that they were normal, he signaled to a couple of men standing down the hall who came and picked Jim up. Freeman followed them as they carried him down the hallway.
Later in the day, Freeman pulled the still drowsy man from the chair he had strapped him into at the beginning of the journey and pushed him in the direction of the lab. Larry Dion waited there for them.
Dion nodded in the direction of the chair and Freeman shoved Jim into it. A medical person of some sort with the usual tattoo on her cheek, stepped forward to draw some blood from the subject. They were silent until she finished the process, with the help of a couple of burly men, and turned back to the lab equipment.
"Well, well, Mr. Brody," Dion began. "It looks like you're not as dead as we thought."
"What do you want from me?" Brody said through clenched teeth.
Dion looked thoughtful. "We already have what we need. A sample of your blood."
Brody began to realize that Dion somehow knew about the organism, but he played dumb. "What good is that going to do you?"
"As if you don't already know about the microorganism in your blood stream. Whatts had to have told you," Dion said.
"What's that got to do with any of this?"
"I can make a lot of money if I can cause this organism to grow outside of a human body," Dion explained. "Where it came from doesn't matter because if it does what I think it will, it will be the only know cure for everything! I stand to make millions!"
Brody snorted. "As if you don't already have millions."
Dion looked Jim in the eye. "True, but this will make my company so rich that it will send all the others out of business. Take him to his quarters," he said as he turned to Freeman.
Freeman took Brody to a comfortable room and literally tossed him in.
***************************************
"All of the crew members that were gone for ten years have the same organism in their blood stream as Deenie," Perry told Captain Hudson as he paced in the ward room. "She told me that they ingested a sample of Brody's blood directly into her. That's why she has it in her blood stream. She explained everything that she found, but she doesn't know where it came from."
Hudson mulled over this tidbit for a moment before he spoke. "Is it possible that they got it somehow from Hyperian?"
Perry shrugged. "It's possible. But if that's true, then that means it's likely that those who didn't reappear with the rest of the crew are alive as well. they may have simply decided to stay there."
Hudson rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't want this to get out.....," he began as Deenie burst into the room with Tim O'Neil close behind.
She took a large gulp of air then spoke. "Sorry to interrupt, Captain, but I finally got a call through to my friend, Kristen. She told me that Jim had made it there, but he disappeared at the hospital yesterday. When she asked around, she found out that he had been abducted."
Hudson sat up. "By whom?"
"Larry Dion," was Deenie's reply.
"Why am I not surprised?" Hudson murmured.
"Kristen Westphalen is asking permission for her and Captain Bridger to come aboard," O'Neil told him.
Hudson sighed. "Permission granted," he said.
O'Neil scurried off to inform Kristen of the captain's decision. Deenie sat down at the other end on the table from Hudson.
"Are we going to do something to get him back?" Deenie asked.
"I don't know, yet," Hudson replied. "Got any ideas?"
Deenie began to roll up her sleeve. "Not right off hand, but maybe this will help." She showed him her Dion tattoo. "I used to work for him, but I haven't gotten around to getting it removed."
Hudson thought about that for a minute. "I can have Lucas break in to Dion's computer system and find out where he's being held. We'll figure out what to do after we find out where he is."
***************************************
Kristen Westphalen was having a reunion with some of her friends from seaQuest. Ford, Krieg and O'Neil each hugged her before she turned to Lucas and smiled.
"Long time no see," Lucas said as he pulled the doctor into a big hug. "Let's not let it happen again."
Kristen smiled. "Agreed," she said as Deenie came in.
She broke down and began crying in her friend's arms.
Kristen held her as she cried, cooing comforting words every now and then until she was finished and hiccuping an apology to the assembled people.
"I'm sorry," Deenie mumbled between hiccups. "I am under a lot of pressure right now." She paused for a moment to wipe her eyes. "Lucas have you got anything?"
Lucas nodded. "As you probably know, Dion has several sea labs of his own...."
"To find new ways to ruin the oceans, no doubt," Deenie commented.
Lucas continued. "As far as I can tell, they've got him in the Central American lab."
Deenie nodded. "Code name: Baja California."
"That's the one," Lucas replied.
"Do you think we can get into the lab?" Hudson asked.
Before Lucas could answer, Deenie put in, "We can if I am in charge of the team."
Hudson turned to face her. "What makes you think I would let you go on this mission, much less lead it?"
Deenie pulled her sleeve up to show the assembled her tattoo. "Because I have our ticket in."
Hudson shook his head before he spoke again. "You'reright, but I don't want you to lead the team. I want Commander Ford to lead it."
Deenie shook her head, no. "Dion is a smart man. He would probably recognize Mr. Ford. I can agree to not leading the team, but I get to choose it."
"Suggestions first."
"Myself, Mr. O'Neil, and to lead," Deenie said. "Ben Krieg."
Ben looked surprised. "ME?!"
"You would be perfect," Deenie went on to explain. "You have the military training, you know have that cocky attitude, AND you can act like you belong even when you don't. Plus, you're Jim's and my friend."
Hudson nodded. "Not a bad choice. Mr. O'Neil, get ready for the mission."
O'Neil nodded. As the group began to leave the he smacked Ben on the back. "Just like the old days, huh, Ben?"
Ben smiled. "Just like the old days."
He returned O'Neil's gesture of friendship as they followed Deenie to the shuttle bay.
***************************************
Unsmearable, waterproof make-up in the guise of a Dion corporation tattoo decorated one hand of each of the men. They were ready to sneak into Baja California, one of the largest sea labs under the sea. It was also one of the most unscrupulous.
Deenie joined the Ben and Tim in the shuttle bay at 1600 hours on the dot. Together, they listened to last minute instruction from Lucas before boarding Ben's now repaired mini sub and taking off into the blue waters.
Deenie was silent until they got into the sea lab's port and linked to an airlock. Going through 'customs' was pretty easy. One flash of their "tattoos" and they were through.
Tim led the trio down a corridor and into an empty room. He got on the terminal and called up a diagram of the station using the access codes that Lucas had obtained and Deenie had confirmed with her knowledge of Dion's infrastructure.
"What do you think?" Tim asked her.
"Can you get more details on this area?" Deenie asked, indicating an area that had no labeling.
Tim pushed a few buttons. "Sorry, No."
"That's where they've got him," Deenie told him. "If I know Dion."
Ben and Tim looked at Deenie so she shrugged. "So I didn't tell you everything," she said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Ben asked.
"I was a bit closer to things than I told you. No time to explain now," she turned to leave the room.
Ben grabbed her arm. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Deenie tried to pull loose. "Nothing. We've got to go."
Ben held her tighter. "If this could get us killed, I think we have a right to know."
Deenie looked at Tim, then back to Ben.
"I had an affair with him," she said. "A very BRIEF affair. I was young and stupid and blinded by lust. When he got tired of me, he tossed me aside like an old shoe. I wasn't too happy about that, but I saw what kind of man he really was. That's when I left the corporation." She jerked her arm away. "Are you happy now?"
"No," Ben replied. "But if we get killed, we at least know the reason." He stepped aside and held out his arm as if to say, 'ladies first.'
Deenie glanced at Tim, he shrugged, and they both left the room followed by Ben.
***************************************
Getting down to the area where Deenie had indicated Jim was being held was easy. Getting into it was a bit harder as there were two guards at the entrance.
"I'll take care of this," Deenie said and unbuttoned a couple of buttons on her blouse before rounding the corner as she swayed her hips.
"Hello, boys," she said in a sultry voice. "I don't suppose you'd like to have a little fun. Would you?"
One of them grinned broadly. "With you? Why not?"
The other grabbed his companion's arm. "We're supposed to be working, you idiot."
"No one has come in or left in days," the first replied with a look in Deenie's direction. "And I haven't had any _fun_ lately, have you?"
"Don't tempt me, Dillinger," said the second.
Deenie slid forward to the second man's side. "Can I tempt you?"
Her breath, hot on his cheek, was getting to him, so he pulled her closer. "Only if I get the first crack at you," he said.
"Whatever you say," she said then slammed her knee hard into his groin.
Before Dillinger could get over his surprise, she floored him with a kick to the stomach. They both fell to their knees where Deenie slammed their heads together, knocking them out.
Tim and Ben joined her seconds later. "You've just _got_ to teach me that," Ben said.
"I don't think it would work for you," Deenie said as she pressed the key pad to open the door. "You've got to be a woman to pull that."
Ben shrugged. "I can be a woman," he said with a shrug.
Deenie threw him a look before following him through the door.
The corridor was lit with lighting bars near the corners of the ceiling. Every so often, there was a door with a plate telling what kind of lab was housed there. At the end of the corridor was a large double door. After checking behind each door they finally came to the end of the hall.
"This is where they've got him," Ben said. "It's got to be."
Deenie only nodded. She put her hand on the knob and took a deep breath before turning the knob and opening the door.
Jim was handcuffed to a bed in one corner of the room, and was sleeping until he heard the commotion. Then he looked up and saw the trio.
"Deenie," he exclaimed as he sat up and tried to get out of the bed. "Are you OK?"
"I'm fine," she replied as she pulled a small cutter out of her pocket and cut the handcuffs, releasing Jim.
"They have all the samples here," he told them as he led them across the room. There was lab equipment set up on a table which ran the length on the room opposite the bed.
Deenie looked at the samples, confirming that they were what they were supposed to be, and shoved them into a small bag. She could almost feel Dion breathing down her neck, so when they started back down the hallway, she lagged behind a bit and hid the samples in a duct.
When they reached the outer doors, they ran into Dion and Freeman with a couple of suited men.
"Well, well," Dion said. "Visitors. Welcome back, Deanna. I guess they call you Deenie now, don't they?"
Deenie snorted and Dion went on. "I guess the memory of hearing it being called by me in the midst of passion is what made you change it."
"What is he talking about, Deenie?" Jim asked.
"What, she didn't tell you that we used to be lovers?" Dion replied in her stead. "An oversight, I would guess."
"Used to be being the operative word," Deenie said through clenched teeth. "At the time I didn't know that he'll sleep with practically anything that breathes. You didn't like it much when I didn't sit alone and sulk. You wanted me back."
"In your drea..." he was starting to say when she knocked him down with a well placed upper cut.
"You BASTARD!" she yelled.
Freeman was caught off balance, so Jim swung at him and knocked him for a loop. Tim and Ben trained their weapons on the remaining two gentlemen as they made their way down the corridor and into the elevator that would take them to a different level.
When they were gone, Dion and Freeman rushed into the lab to find all of their samples gone.
"Don't let them off this lab alive," Dion ordered angrily.
***************************************
They had almost made it safely to the docking bay when Deenie insisted that they turn around and go back.
"Why?" asked Ben incredulously.
"I left the samples in the duct," she replied. "I can go alone. We can't let them find them."
Ben nodded. "Try to get back here as fast as you can."
Deenie ran as fast as she could until she made it to the corridor leading to the room where they had rescued Jim. With her weapon at the ready, she slowly retraced her steps until she found the duct. She pulled the vent off as quietly as she could and reached in for the sack, then she shoved it into a pocket and ran back the way she had come. She was able to rejoin the others without incident.
Getting back to the mini sub was going to be a very difficult job. The docking bay was crawling with armed soldiers from Dion's personal army.
"Carefully," Deenie said. "If we do this right, we can sneak right through them."
Ben pulled a canister out of his pack. "How about a little diversion," he said with a grin.
Tim, Deenie and Jim looked at each other then at Ben. "Go for it," they said together.
Ben pulled the pin and threw it as hard as he could. It landed at the opposite end of the room from their docking port and began to let off a thick smoke. Instantly half of the people in the room headed toward it, a stupid move on their part, while the other half began to cough uncontrollably.
"Go," Ben whispered sharply as they made a run for the docking port. They made it inside and sealed the hatch before anyone noticed them.
"Lock the seal," came muffled voices from outside.
It was too late. The mini sub was away and headed back to seaQuest.
***************************************
Deenie held James Brody as if she would never let him go. "You OK?" she asked after she pulled away.
"Yes," he replied, quiet and withdrawn.
"No you're not," Deenie replied. "You're mad at me."
"Why didn't you tell me about you and Dion?" Jim asked softly.
"I...," Deenie stammered. "I didn't think it would matter. I'm sorry, James. I didn't want to hurt you."
Jim leaned back in his seat. "You did."
"I never really loved him," Deenie told him. "Not the way I love you."
He looked at her. "How do you love me?"
"I came after you didn't I?"
Jim smiled. "I guess you did."
"And the _fling_ with Dion was just a fling."
Jim nodded and pulled her closer.
"And I was practically a child."
He pulled her closer. Deenie caught what he was thinking.
"Not here," she said putting her finger on his lips. "Later."
Jim grinned. "You got that right."
***************************************
The senior crew of seaQuest plus four former crew and one who had never set foot aboard seaQuest had gathered in the ward room. It was a bit eerie for those who knew Jim Brody. He had died here on seaQuest and now he was walking around alive and well albeit with little memory of any of them. He remembered wisps of things about each of them when he finally met them, but nothing was solid.
"All of the crew who had been in stasis have this micro organism in their bloodstream," Perry told the assembled group. "With the exception of Miss Whatts, of course."
Bridger spoke next. "My theory is that this organism was in the waters of Hyperion. That's why we didn't die there. Those who did die there somehow rejected it."
"I don't know whether to call them lucky or not," Commander Ford stated.
"Regardless of what this is, this secret can't leave this room," Deenie reminded them. "I wish we could use it for good, but with the way the world is today...." Deenie shrugged. "I think it should wait."
"There is something else," Kristen Westphalen began. "Dr. Perry and I have been doing a study of these organisms. They stay alive when separated from the body, as long as they are _in_ a blood sample. Remove them and they die instantly."
"No vaccine can be made with just the organism," Perry continued. "It has to be in the blood to survive."
"Did you destroy the samples when you got done?" Deenie asked them.
Kristen nodded. "If it gets out that the crew of seaQuest has a miracle microbe in their blood, the UEO will lock you all away until hell freezes over."
The room was uncomfortably quiet. Finally, Hudson spoke.
"There are to be no records of any of this," Hudson said quietly. "Official or otherwise. We are going to pretend that none of this happened. Mr. Brody is still dead. There was a mistake, and his body was taken to the wrong facility." He was silent a moment before he continued. "Mr. Wolenczek, get with Miss Whatts and help find a new identity for her and our friend. Captain, Doctor Westphalen, it would be a big help to us if you could find a place for them somewhere."
Nathan nodded. "I think I know where they can go."
After another moment of silence, Hudson nodded. "Dismissed."
***************************************
Elizabeth Myer and her husband Jack arrived with their black Labrador, Nina, at the Caribbean Dolphin Institute in the Florida Keys. Dr. Malcolm Lansdowne came to meet them.
"You must be the dolphin specialist I was told to expect," he said as he shook her hand.
"Pleased to meet you, Doctor Lansdowne," Elizabeth said. "This is my husband Ji... uh, Jack."
Lansdowne leaned close to them. "Nathan told me you were in a witness protection program. You're secret's safe with me." He straightened back up. "Call me Malcolm."
Hand in hand, Elizabeth and Jack Myer, formerly Deenie Whatts and Jim Brody, followed Malcolm up to the buildings, ready to start a new life.Jim Brody and Deenie made their marriage legal on the beach near the dolphin institute. A year later, Deenie had a baby girl, and Jim got his memory completely back.seaQuest's crew was able to go back to living day to day, but those with the micro organisms tended to be a bit more fearless when it came to dangerous jobs.THE END