Disclaimer: I do not own SeaQuest or any of the characters, just so you know. The only characters I own or made up are John and Beck Camcus and Admiral Gates.
Also I do not have a beta so just bare with me in the mistakes!
Lucas walked happily down the corridors of the SeaQuest, he was thinking to himself on how much he accomplished that day. First he fixed the vocorder and made tremendous leaps in Darwin's vocabulary. Then after Dr. Westphalen's many praise, he and Darwin had a good time playing tag. After that he worked on an experiment that had been going on every since SeaQuest started and he cracked it and completed it within an hour. Now everyone at the lab thought he was a God for finishing it, for everyone else, they were really getting sick of working on it everyday. Now tonight the captain and him were going to have dinner together and play Outsmart with the senior staff. Last time Lucas and Bridger tied Katie and Ford so it was all or nothing tonight.
Lucas was so lost in thought he didn't notice all the extra people passing him and carrying equipment. It wasn't until he reached his quarters that he realized something was wrong…something way wrong.
In the middle of his quarters stood a man in black with a clipboard and two boxes in front of him. Lucas's quarters were empty besides that, all his computers, clothes, posters, magazines, everything was gone.
"Um…where is all my stuff and who are you?" Asked Lucas getting a little angry, the man had ignored him until he spoke.
The man finally looked up and looked Lucas over head to foot. He then flipped through his clipboard. "You must be Wolenczak, all your stuff has been moved to…Cabin 2A Captain Bridger, he is your new roommate." With that the man turned and left the room.
Lucas stared at his empty quarters then turned and headed to Bridger's. On the way he noticed a lot more men in black wandering through the corridors. How had he not noticed them before?
Lucas got to Bridger's quarters and pushed the door in without knocking. In one corner were boxes, Lucas assumed that was his stuff. Bridger came out of the bathroom buttoning his shirt.
"Don't you knock?" He asked fixing his collar.
"Well this is my room too, now." Lucas teased.
"So I heard." Bridger said rolling his eyes and grabbing his shoes. "As you can tell dinner is cancelled and so is Outsmart, sorry kiddo. All personnel is required on the bridge."
"Uh, Captain, what is going on? Who are these guys? When did they get here? And why did they take my room?" Lucas was thoroughly confused. Bridger made it seem as if all the men in black were normal.
Bridger eyed Lucas, the boy really had no idea what was going on. "Where have you been?"
"Um…in the lab and with Darwin."
"Oh, I heard you finally finished the never-ending experiment, congratulations, Kristen almost cried from happiness when she told me." Then Bridger sobered, he did not want to tell Lucas this but…"These men are from Karn, they requested/ordered SeaQuest to take them to UEO headquarters in New Cape Quest. We were lucky enough to be near enough to accommodate them. They are the kind of people who get what they want. There are 55 of them, all men. Their commander is John Camcus. I want you to stay in here, while they are here or be with one of the senior staff when you eat or leave this room, okay?"
"Why?" Lucas was really puzzled now.
Bridger sighed. "You won't be surprised but I made sure you and I were roomies, the Karns took over many quarters, I mean Ford now has to share with Tim, Miguel and Ben. We are way overcrowded."
"But why can't I leave the room?" Lucas didn't like the way he evaded the question.
Bridger gazed at him and went over to his chest of drawers. "The truth, Lucas?" At Lucas's nod he continued. "I don't trust Camcus or any of the Karns for that matter at all." Bridger kept rummaging around in his top drawer until he produced a small gun. He turned it gently in his hands and checked how much ammo he had. Satisfied, he put his foot on a chair and tucked the gun in his boot and covered it with his pant leg. When he straightened he went to Lucas and put his hands on Lucas's shoulders. "I don't want them to see what you are capable of…" With that he broke off and headed towards the door. "Please Lucas just this once, listen to me." After saying it, Bridger shut the door behind him. Lucas heard a click and knew the captain had locked him in. If an emergency occurred, Lucas and the captain both knew Lucas could easily get out, by overriding the lock. In doing this, the captain hoped Lucas would realize how serious he was in not wanting Lucas to wander about.
Lucas stood in the middle of the room, thinking about if the captain locked him in then he really was serious in not wanting Lucas to leave. 'Well I guess I can listen this once.' Ignoring his growling stomach, he headed to the bathroom to shower.
"Listen men all we need to do is take the bridge. Right now Bridger is on duty. Hawk, Leon, you take Commander Ford, he is off duty now and in his quarters. I want all the bridge staff apprehended. Once done, bring them all to the bridge, then we will start taking the rest of the ship. Any questions?"
Commander John Camcus looked at his men and nodded. "Let's get it on. For Karn!" They rest of the group echoed him. "FOR KARN!" Then they split up and left to do their assigned jobs.
After getting out of the shower, Lucas settled down in front of his computer. He was still hungry, so he took a quick peek in the captain's things. In a cupboard above the captain's bunk was a stack of candy bars and other food wrapped in plastic. Lucas lit up, the captain didn't even follow his own rules. "Geez and the captain is always telling me not to eat chocolate, look at this!' Lucas helped himself to a few candy bars then headed back to his computer. It was 2100 hours, and Lucas knew he would be up late looking up the Karns. He settled himself in for a long night.
At 100 hours Lucas stood up and stretched. He had found lots of information on the Karns and a lot of personal info when he hacked into some other data banks. What he found did not exactly brighten his mood.
~ Karn is an oil rich country, since its birth as a nation. Karn is small and not considered part of the UEO but does request its help from time to time. Karn is a military nation. Twice the people have tried to overthrow the government, to make it into communism. Both attempts failed. First attempt led by Beck Camcus, whom died in the attempt. Second attempt led by John Camcus also failed many casualties in both parties. ~
'Wait it can't be the same Camcus, can it?' Lucas scrolled down to a picture and his question was answered, yes it was the same Camcus. Father and son both tried to take over the government and now the son was on SeaQuest.
Lucas was about to search for more but he heard a commotion in the corridor. Peeking out the small window in the hatch, Lucas saw Jonathon Ford stumble out of his quarters with a big gash on his forehead. Behind him came Miguel, who was holding his arm, it looked broken. Ford seeing Lucas peering out, shook his head and stood in front of the small window, so Lucas could not see out but the Karns could not see in either. Lucas caught on quickly and pressed himself against the wall. He heard a man order Ford to move. Ford obviously wasn't quick enough, and Lucas heard a small cry and a thump. The handle to the door started to move but quickly stopped because it was locked. Lucas heard more muffled talking. Then Miguel said loudly.
"That's the captain's quarters, he is on the bridge." Miguel was trying to get them away from the quarters and away from Lucas. He bent down and offered his good hand to the commander and helped him up the best he could. Ford's head was heavily bleeding and his ankle could not take his weight anymore. Leaning on Miguel, the two were escorted to the bridge.
Lucas sat down heavily, SeaQuest had been taken over. He didn't dare call the captain or Kristen in fear of someone tracing the call. But he had to do something.
Getting on his computer he started to make a call to UEO headquarters, when he saw another call being made. Piggybacking on the call he listened with interest.
"The bridge is secure and the rest of the SeaQuest is being taken over now." John Camcus said to a man dressed surprisingly in black.
"Good son, with everyone thinking I am dead, I can surprise the Karn government just as you surprise the UEO, with SeaQuest there is nothing that we can't take over!" Beck Camcus laughed as he thought of his perfect plan. Saying good bye to his son, he signed off and got his troops ready to storm the Karn Government once again.
Lucas sat frozen at the computer staring at the screen long after the call ended. So the Camcus's planned on taking the SeaQuest and going after the UEO and the Karn government. Lucas had to do something so he started to lock out Camcus's men from weapons and environmental controls, just in case.
On the Bridge, John crossed over to Bridger who was sitting in the captain's chair warily watching John take over his ship.
"Well, Captain I hope you don't mind me stealing your ship, but how else was I supposed to get close to UEO headquarters. Personally I can't believe you fell for the transmission from Admiral Gates of the UEO. Everyone knew he was vacationing…well not now, unless he likes his vacation's six feet under." John said laughing at Katie's expression. He had kidnapped Gates during his extended vacation and forced him to make the transmission to SeaQuest about giving Camcus's men a ride. It had been fun to make Gates do the transmission while John held a gun on Gate's 12-year old daughter. After the transmission, John let the girl go and as she ran to her daddy, John shot her in the back, reveling in Gate's horror stricken face. Gate's turned to him and then fell next to his daughter as John shot him. 'What a happy reunion' John thought. Shaking his head of the memory he grabbed Bridger's arm. "Why don't we make a call to UEO headquarters and let them know what's happened, shall we? Hmm, do you prefer the ward room or your personal quarters…Let's try your quarters, gives the call more of a homey feel to it." John smiled evilly not noticing the looks that had crossed Bridger's, Ford's, or Miguel's faces. Pulling Bridger behind him, they left the Bridge.
Halfway to Bridger's quarter's John stopped. "I can't convince anything to the UEO like this." John took out his gun and stood over Bridger. "This is better."
The gunshot could be heard to the bridge. Katie gasped and put her head on Jonathon's shoulder. Miguel huddled closer to Tim and started praying with him. Jonathon stroked Katie's head and closed his eyes in his own prayer.
Lucas also heard the gunshot. He had no clue what was going on outside the quarters. Dismissing the gunshot as an accident he continued in overriding the system to lock out Camcus's men.
After a few minutes of intense concentration on the system in front of him, Lucas heard a steady noise getting closer. It sounded as something heavy was being dragged. He looked around the room and quickly hid in the bathroom, just in case somebody was stopping by.
Lucas heard the door open and the noise stopped as a loud thump, resided through the room.
"Well, Captain, this is homey, let's make our little call, before you lose anymore blood and are unable to defend yourself. Oops, looks like it's too late." John Camcus said then added as Bridger passed out. Ignoring the body John dialed up UEO headquarters.
Lucas peering out of the small window of the bathroom saw John had his back to the bathroom and to Lucas. Lucas eased quietly out of the bathroom and closer to Bridger. Lucas gaped at Bridger's appearance; the man was sprawled on the floor with his back to John. His uniform was already soaked through with blood in the chest area. Lucas gingerly pulled back the uniform and saw that the bullet wound was close to his heart. Lucas knew that Bridger need medical attention and soon.
John turned to check on Bridger when he saw a boy kneeling over him. "Hey, kid, where did you come from?" John was confused, this was a military vessel, why was a boy aboard? Oh well, just another piece of trash to dispose of.
Lucas spun at the voice and faced John, he turned back to Bridger and closed his eyes praying for help. Then he reached down to Bridger's boot and pulled out the small gun. Tucking it under his shirt he stood slowly. At that moment Admiral Noyce appeared on the screen.
"Yes?" Noyce said impatiently, this transmission was interrupting an important meeting. Nathan and him weren't supposed to talk until next week when the new assignments came in. Noyce only took the call because he figured if Nathan was calling now something big must of happened.
"Who are you and where is Captain Bridger?" Noyce asked when all he saw was John, assuming John was a crewman Noyce looked around. "Lucas, what is…Lucas is everything okay?" Noyce liked Lucas, he knew the kid from his father and he got to know the boy better through Nathan, but now the kid looked absolutely terrified. Looking around he saw a crumbled figure on the floor, judging by the uniform he knew who it was. "WHO ARE YOU? What have you done!?"
After Noyce's outburst, John smiled. "You don't recognize me? That hurts Admiral, after all I've done and my father. I'll just let the kid make the introductions, he's been doing quite a search on me over the Internex I'm sure he knows exactly who I am and what I want. Isn't that right, boy?"
After Lucas's glare, John snickered and motioned for Lucas to make the introductions with a wave of his knife. Lucas swallowed and looked up at the Admiral.
"Ad…Admiral Noyce, Sir this is John Camcus." Lucas stuttered then looked down again. Noyce visibly paled, John smirked at his reaction.
"That is Commander John Camcus and I have taken over this vessel and are heading right for you and you can't do anything to stop us." John said again happily watching Noyce's reaction.
"You can't do this!" Noyce yelled panicking.
"You're right…he can't." Both men turned at the voice. There Lucas stood, pointing Bridger's small gun at John.
John smiled and moved closer to Lucas. The Admiral watched Lucas did not look terrified anymore, he seemed almost comfortable with the gun. Lucas waved the gun at John to make him move away, John obliged and sat down. He knew the boy wouldn't do anything. He watched as Lucas dug through Bridger's drawers and finally produced a pair of handcuffs. He walked over to John and kept the gun steadily pointing at him. He brandished the handcuffs and motioned John to put them on his one wrist and the other around the chair. The chair was screwed to the ground and Lucas knew once the handcuffs were on then John couldn't move.
John smiled and put the handcuffs on. He knew it wouldn't go any farther, this was only a teenager. Lucas walked over to Bridger and knelt down to check for a pulse. Feeling one he sat back and sighed.
"Lucas, is he…okay?" Noyce asked worried, he couldn't believe how well Lucas handled John.
At Lucas's nod, he watched as Lucas walked over to a console and started typing.
"I am locking out all system's from the main computer, only I have the password. I am sending you all information on the takeover and our coordinates as you can tell we need some help." Lucas looked up and smiled as head finished typing the commands.
Noyce was shocked and the two stared at each other until they John started laughing, Lucas turned and raised his gun.
"Don't even think it about it Camcus, you probably think I have never used a gun before, I hate to tell you that you would not be the first man I kill… or even the second." Lucas said lost in memory, John's eyes widened along with Noyce's.
"Lucas, I…what…check Nathan will you?" Noyce asked not having a clue what to say to the boy.
Lucas looked up at him with haunted eyes and nodded. He started to turn.
"Lucas, Watch Out!" Noyce yelled, but it was too late. Lucas had turned into John's outstretched hand wielding the knife, he had forgotten John had one earlier, it was too late now. Lucas felt the knife enter his stomach, he pulled backwards and stumbled back until he hit the wall. Noyce's image was right above him unable to see.
"Lucas…" Was all Noyce could utter.
Lucas looked at John then pulled the knife out. John smiled at him until he saw Lucas raise the gun once more.
"Number three." Lucas said sadly.
Noyce heard 2 gunshots and he watched John Camcus jerk back in his seat. Then it was all silent. Nothing moved. Noyce watched for minutes on end until the screen went blank: Transmission ended: blinked steadily in front of him. He could not believe what he had just witnessed. Within seconds he was contacting every sub in the area to assist SeaQuest.
Lucas ended the call with Noyce, then crawled over to the door and unlocked it. After that was accomplished he continued across the floor until he reached Bridger. Feeling a pulse once more, Lucas lay down by his side and let the pain over take him.
Twenty minutes later, Ford looked up as the clam doors to the Bridge opened. Dozens of UEO security poured in. Camcus's men quickly surrendered, they hadn't heard from Camcus in a while and didn't know what was happening.
The Commander of the security team hurried over to Commander Ford, Hitchcock, Ortiz, and O'Neill. Upon seeing Ford he called for a doctor then turned to them.
"I am Commander Ski from UEO, Admiral Noyce told us you had a little takeover." The commander said smiling.
"Yes, you could say that." Ford said as he braced himself against Katie and O'Neill and stood. They led Ski over to the captain's chair where Ford sat and grabbed a towel to press against his head. A doctor came over and started to check him over.
"Where is your captain?" Ski asked. Upon seeing Katie whitening face, he knew something was wrong.
Ford looked down. "About 40 minutes ago, Camcus took Bridger to his quarters to call UEO headquarters, but we heard a gunshot after they left and we have not heard from either of them since."
Tim led the way and burst into Bridger's room first with Ski and his men right behind him.
Ski stopped upon entering taking in the scene. The vid-screen was blinking Transmission Ended, under the screen was a gun and a bloody knife. A trail of blood led from the weapons to the door and over to the corner, where Captain Bridger lay and a boy. Sitting in the middle of the room was John Camcus, with two bullet holes in his chest, his lifeless eyes still staring wide at the vid-screen.
At that moment, Kristen Westphalen ran in with her medical bag. Upon seeing the scene in the room she stopped. "Oh, God what happened?" Then she ran to Tim, Bridger and Lucas with her medical team right behind her.
After checking their vitals, she made a few quick commands and Lucas was loaded onto a stretcher and whisked off.
With Bridger they had to be more careful, the bullet was still lodged in his chest and if it moved it could harm his heart. After a few minutes, Bridger was also loaded onto a stretcher and with the help of Tim and Ski he was taken to med-bay.
"Lucas, you were great. Without your help, Camcus's men could have fired on UEO Headquarters', you saved a lot of lives…" Ford said then trailed off not knowing what to say. This 16-year old had overtook the ship, killed a man and gotten stabbed and Ford was trying to thank him for it. Ford leaned heavily on his cane. Kristen said he broke his ankle and would have the cane for a while, Lucas was just released from med-bay, the knife had missed all major organs. He had lost a lot of blood, but he had been replenished. Ford knew he was keeping Lucas from doing what he wanted to do, so he excused himself and hobbled back to the bridge.
Lucas watched the commander leave, he did not feel like a hero, like the rest of the crew made him out to be. Even the UEO had recommended him for a medal of some kind. Lucas just did what he knew he had to do. And now he knew what he had to do. Lucas walked through med-bay until he reached one of the back private rooms.
There lying in a bed was Captain Bridger. He had many tubes leading in and out of his body. An oxygen cannula was in his nose, a bag of blood hung over his head and a heart monitor beeped slowly.
It had been 4 days since the takeover ended. Commander Ski and his men left 2 days ago after making sure everything was right. Miguel had broken his arm, 5 other crewmembers where injured not seriously and no casualties as of yet and only one man was still in danger. Bridger had been through 4 surgeries and made it through each one, just barely. They had to jump-start his heart twice and he had stopped breathing once.
Lucas made his way over to the bed and pulled up a chair. He noticed Kristen had left a few things of hers in here. She had barely left his side since he was brought in. The other doctor finally ordered her to get some real rest and made her go back to her quarters'. Lucas sat and pulled Bridger's hand in his own. Even though he had been released from med-bay he wasn't leaving until the captain walked out with him. Lucas sat with Bridger for hours, thinking of the takeover and everything else. Finally he succumbed to his thoughts and fell asleep with his head leaning on Bridger's bed and his hand still holding his.
The fifth day dawned and Kristen walked in to check on Bridger, she wasn't surprised to see Lucas sleeping next to him. The boy had been despondent ever since the takeover ended. Kristen knew he was really worried about the captain as she was. She decided to leave the two of them alone for now, she could come back later.
Lucas woke soon after Kristen left. He looked around his surroundings and felt something move. It was Bridger's hand! Lucas's eyes shot up to Bridger's face. Bridger was staring back at him with a faint smile.
"Captain, how long have you been awake? Should I get Dr. Westphalen?" Lucas whispered.
"Not long and no, and why are we whispering?" Bridger said with a scratchy voice.
Lucas laughed and shrugged. "It's good to have you back, Captain."
"It's good to be back. Are you alright?" Lucas still looked pale and he had a haunted look in his eyes that would not go away.
Lucas blushed. "I'm fine, now get some rest before Dr. Westphalen comes and pokes you in places you wish she wouldn't."
They both laughed and Bridger soon drifted off again.
The next few days were progressive, Bridger woke more often and most of the senior staff visited. Ford told him how the ship was running, Miguel filled him in on everyone's injuries and Ben told him how everyone was taking it. But no one would tell him exactly what happened. In truth no one really knew except Lucas. Noyce knew some details but he only talked to Nathan a few minutes, the UEO was busy cleaning up the mess Beck Camcus made at Karn. After Lucas locked out SeaQuest, Beck went for the Karn Government anyway, he was apprehended and many of his men were killed.
That night Bridger gladly went to sleep, Ford had filled him on every little ship detail and that definitely put him to sleep. Ford saw this and thankfully left. In the middle of the night, Bridger woke, he now knew what had happened. He had to talk to Lucas, as he reached for his PAL, he saw Lucas sleeping on the cot nearby. Bridger smiled Lucas had been sneaking in every night to sleep with the captain, just to make sure he was okay.
Lucas woke, as if sensing Bridger was awake. "You okay, Captain, do you need something?" He asked panicking, usually Bridger slept like a rock at night.
Bridger stared for a few more seconds. "What did you mean by John Camcus would not be your first kill, or even your second?"
Lucas's eyes widened. "How did you know? You were out cold. Did Noyce tell you?"
"No, I did not talk to Noyce, and no I wasn't out cold. I regretfully woke during that moment, though I wished I hadn't." Bridger said rubbing his chest, it still hurt.
"You heard me?" At Bridger's nod, Lucas looked away, he did not want to explain this. He knew the captain would not let it go, so at 2 a.m. Lucas told Bridger a story that only 2 other men knew.
Lucas watched as his father placed his gun in his desk. He smiled as Lucas watched him.
"You are getting good, son. A few more times at the practice range and you should be a pro." Lawrence said.
Lucas smiled weakly, he hated going to the shooting range, but his father enjoyed it and it was the only time they spent together, so Lucas would do it for him.
That night Lucas was getting ready for bed when he heard glass shatter and his father yell. Coming down the stairs Lucas saw 2 men standing over his father demanding money. Lucas ran down the hall and into his father's study. He grabbed his father's gun and went back to the living room. His father saw him and motioned for him to shoot. Lucas froze, he was a good shot, but he didn't want to kill anybody. The men turned and saw Lucas with the gun.
"Hey kid hand over the gun, your father owes us, don't do something you'll regret." One of the men said.
Twelve year old, Lucas raised the gun, the men smiled and moved closer.
"Lucas! SHOOT! NOW! I am your father listen to me! Do it Now!" Lawrence yelled.
"Lucas do it!" He continued to yell, as the men advanced.
Lucas shut his eyes and ears to the noise and pulled the trigger. Two shots, both men were dead before they hit the ground.
Lawrence couldn't believe his son just did that. Lucas stood emotionless with the gun by his side, he had just killed two men. The police had already been called and the butler ran in to see what the commotion was.
Lawrence not wanting his son to be a hero grabbed the gun and gave it to the butler. The two of them changed the story, so it was the butler who shot the men. They made Lucas promise not to tell the truth. Lucas agreed and went to bed and told the police he heard nothing. The butler was given a large bonus from Lawrence and soon after he quit and moved on with his money. It worked out perfectly and the butler was always remembered as the hero not Lucas. After the incident, Lawrence never took Lucas to the shooting range again and he spent less and less time with him, until he eventually sent him off to the SeaQuest to live.
Bridger could not believe the story, Lucas hated violence and would never touch a gun unless he had too. Well now Bridger knew why.
"Lucas you are a hero, at home that night and here. You saved this ship, UEO Headquarters, and the Karn Government. Whether you like it or not you are a hero." Bridger said solemnly. With that Bridger sat up the best he could and gave Lucas a salute.
The End