Out Of The Blue

by Allegra

The seaQuest crew are sent to investigate research on an underwater oceanography station, but a routine check turns out to be more dangerous than they ever imagined.

3. Out Of The Blue - Part 3

OUT OF THE BLUE (PART 3)

By Allegra

See Part One for disclaimers etc.

Ben Krieg had been listening to his assigned tour guide moan on about the cost of research equipment for the past hour and it took all the lieutenant's waning self control not to tell him to stick his complaints where the sun don't shine. Unfortunately for him, the sun didn't shine at the sea floor which meant he was going to be listening to this monologue for some time more.
Finally, Dr. Rowe ground to a halt, vocally and physically, in front of a small door at the far end of the corridor. It would be too much for Krieg to hope that this might be his drop-off point and optimism could almost be his middle name. "Now, if we could just bump off the goons taking ice samples up there, perhaps we could get some of the important stuff done round here." Rowe pushed open the door and stepped through into a small office, littered with unbridled papers which spilled onto the floor and threatened to flutter from the overstuffed binders beside the desk. Krieg may not be the tidiest man in the world but he had a certain personal pride in some things, yet this man seemed to have a totally unhindered hatred of anything bordering on organisation. Oh, this was going to be fun.

Picking up one of the obese files and tentatively glancing at the top sheets of its contents, Ben said, "I suppose the...state...of this information is the NOSO's fault, too?" He made no effort to hide the sardonic tone to his voice and he noticed Dr. Rowe's cheeks colouring a little. At first, Krieg imagined he might have had an impact and humbled the good doctor but he was sorely mistaken. The crimson hue suddenly adorning his skin was nothing more than a warning of the eruption which would follow it. Dr. Rowe had been the picture of helpfulness and meekness since the seaQuest crew had arrived.
Boring beyond all call of duty, but gentle nevertheless. So, it was with some trepidation that Ben chose to sit down while the torrent of abuse was hurled in his general direction. "Those people should all be gutted like fish, hung from hooks like the damned seals they're constantly trying to protect! They're responsible for the state of everything down here! You can blame them for the mess in this room, the rust on the pipe work, the bad food in the cafeteria and especially the fact that you had to come here in the first place!"
Ben raised his hands in mock surrender, "Woah, there! I was kidding...well, kinda." Rowe opened his mouth to say something, pointing his finger menacingly at the lieutenant but Krieg quickly cut him off. "Hey, enough with the finger pointing, okay?! Don't forget I'm a representative of the UEO and I could have you up on charges in moments. All it takes is a word in the right person's ear and, as the supplies and morale officer, I know..."
"Okay, okay. I just get so frustrated!" Rowe put deliberate and frightening emphasis on the last word and Krieg made a mental note to the man's superior that someone might be getting a little attack of cabin fever. It would probably be doing the whole world a favour if they released him onto land. An anonymous friend could put a sledge hammer in his hand and he could wreak merry revenge on the opposition taking all his funding.

Gesturing to the wad of papers he held in one hand, Ben cleared his throat. "I suggest we get started on this stuff and perhaps I can give you a few pointers on keeping your budget under control." Rowe's eyes widened with interest and he sat edgily on his seat, "How?" A wicked smile played across the lieutenant's lips, lighting his eyes with a demonic gleam, "Oh, a little tweak here, a little nod there, you know." Rowe suddenly sat back on his chair, drawing his back poker straight and adjusting his glasses precisely on the end of his snubby nose. "I don't wish to be associated with criminal activities, Mr. Krieg."
Belatedly recognizing his mistake in seeking an ally in the prim and proper scientist, Ben restated his intentions. "Oh, of course not. What do you take me for? A crook? Come on, give the UEO some credit...give me some credit! I'm just saying that there are ways to cut down on your expenditure which means more finance for other projects." He turned the page on the first file he held and pointed to an item half way down the list. "Like here, for instance." Taking devilish delight in the sound of his own voice and the lecture he was about to begin, Ben hunched down over the papers. "See, if you rethink the budget for this section, then your outgoings will be..."

Commander Ford was grateful to be back on seaQuest, after Captain Bridger asked him to deal with some communications from the UEO Headquarters at Pearl Harbour. Nathan had been eager to go himself but Noyce had been firm about where his man belonged and Jonathan was beginning to appreciate the finer points of being second in command rather than first.

Nobody except Lucas and Kristin had seemed fully content on the MEDS station but yet none were able to put their finger on what exactly was wrong down there but the quicker the UEO left the area the better. Ortiz brought up reams of data onto his monitor as Ford leaned over him. "There's some transfer orders which need dealing with and a whole load of misdirected supplies." Ford frowned at the information scanning before his eyes, "Isn't that Krieg's domain?" Miguel shrugged, unwilling to influence any of his superior's decisions. Jonathan sighed, "Never mind, I'll deal with it anyway."
"Why don't you just call Krieg back?" The commander stifled a laugh at the idea of giving one of his least favourite crew members an easy ride while he went back to that tin can at the bottom of the ocean.
"Oh, I think he's got his hands full. I wouldn't want to interrupt him." Ortiz noticed the sarcastic tone to his friend's voice and queried, "Why? What's going on down there?" Ford shook his head, jokingly. "Let's just say our MEDS friends have proven to be quite a...colourful crowd."

The afternoon passed like years and Bridger was hopeful that the lack of obvious activity around the station was a good sign that the crew could get back to seaQuest that evening. If everything had gone according to plan and all the teams had carried out thorough examinations of their allocated areas, it still shouldn't take them more than a day to give the all clear. The captain had bumped into Krieg along a corridor a couple of hours ago and the lieutenant had given him nothing to worry about, but it was feedback from the science team and Chief Crocker which concerned Bridger the most. If there was anything which would force him to stay longer, it would be a matter of security or Noyce's suspicions that the research carried out down here was a little suspect in the realms of safety.

Nathan waited patiently until he heard footsteps in the corridors outside his room and a moment later there was a knock at the door. Slowly, the seaQuest crew trickled in, all looking rather the worse for wear after their day. Clearly, no one had enjoyed the same success as Kristin and Lucas in the region of interest. Everything about the MEDS station reeked of boring - its colour, dimensions, inhabitants. The last of the group filed in and sat down and Nathan surveyed his people with varying degrees of sympathy. As usual, conspicuous in his absence, Lucas was nowhere to be seen. The captain's instincts immediately forced him to home in on his wayward lieutenant, Krieg. "Where's Lucas?" The man shrugged, "Beats me, sir. Last I saw, he was sitting behind some computer up on level two." Nathan had vainly hoped that the lack of enthusiasm the boy had shown back on the submarine would be reflected in his punctuality so they could get back home quicker. Once again, he was mistaken. "He knew we were regrouping at four."
Ben ventured, "Do you want me to go look for him, sir?"
"No, no." Bridger quickly replied. The last thing they needed was another crew member gone AWOL. No doubt the pair would get themselves into some kind of trouble between one room and another and its inevitable results were not worth contemplating. Fortunately, they were saved the wait by the boy's arrival a few minutes later. He didn't seem breathless but there was an unusual flush of colour in his cheeks and a content smile on his face. "Sorry I'm late, captain." Without thinking to explain himself further, Lucas sat down beside Commander Hitchcock and settled back in his chair.
Bridger casually inquired, "That's it? No explanation. What took you so long?" Lucas looked around the table with wide eyes, only just cottoning on to the general looks of disapproval he was getting from the rest of the crew, except Ben who was scrutinising him closely with an altogether different expression. It was that which was the most disconcerting of all because its implications were that Krieg had seen him with Cleo and was already forming sweet little pictures of youthful romance which he could tease Lucas with for months to come. Clearing his throat warily, Lucas ventured, "I, I was just delayed with a computer programming hitch. I didn't want to leave it or I'd have to start all over again." That seemed to satisfy Bridger and the rest of the staff but Ben's smile continued to home in on him and Lucas pretended to be engrossed in the conversations which went around the table while carefully avoiding all eye contact with the lieutenant.

"Commander Hitchcock, did you find anything out of the ordinary?" The brunette shook her head firmly, "No, sir. The station itself is sturdy and well-maintained, their transport equipment is well above the required UEO standards." Katie passed a sheet of paper to her captain, detailing her finds in greater depth which Nathan perused for a few minutes.

Ben turned his attention away from Lucas, his mind already switched to the woman who had formerly been Mrs. Krieg. She was perfect in so many ways, not all of them perfections he liked very much, like the report. It was just so typical of her to have everything laid out in little charts with keys and all kinds of odd terminology to impress the captain. That had been the problem with Katie; she had always been top of the class at the academy with him and Krieg had loved that part of it, the idea of two of the UEO's finest brains in partnership. Yet, unlike her, Ben was only prepared to go the distance when he had to and once he found a place on the best sub in the ocean, there was no need to prove himself anymore. His job was done and all he had to do was stay out of trouble long enough to keep it for a while. He knew it wasn't the most admirable or rewarding way to live his life in service but it certainly beat sucking up to the captain with extra credit work. Krieg could feel his innards snarling at the goody-two-shoes manner in which his ex-wife planned her every move. God, he hated her! But then she did have great legs and eyes to die for, liquid blue and so piercing...
"Lieutenant Krieg?"
"Hmmm?" Drawn from his reverie, Ben was met with the questioning gaze of Bridger and the superior look of faint amusement on Hitchcock's face. "Oh, right, I found...um, nothing, actually, sir."
"You don't seem very certain about that, Lieutenant."
"No, I am. You know these people, all talk. Their supply demands don't seem to be extortionate. Nothing remotely suspicious."
"What about the supplies themselves? Is there anything we should be looking into?" Krieg looked blankly at his captain. "Like what exactly? If you mean nuclear warheads, then the answer's no. Everything's up to scratch in this department."
Nathan nodded, "Fine. Good." He continued round the table, running through Crocker, "What about security measures?"
"As far as I can tell, captain, the drilling into the rock was minimal. It is certainly no cause for concern." Lucas sat up straighter in his chair. So they'd seen the mine, too? They knew already. His heart lurched in his chest. That would absolve Cleo of any responsibility for breach of contract. Lucas' anticipation was short-lived when Dr. Westphalen noted, "Yes, I was given a tour of where the rock samples have been taken from but such minuscule slices would be of no consequence in relation to plate tectonics." If the doctor had seen the same place as him, her response would be quite different. For a start, there was an ample hole in the cliff face not a minuscule slice. No, this was someone else's masquerade and they were back to square. No, make that about minus ten. Not only was he now withholding information but he knew someone else was up to no good, duping his friends and colleagues. Bridger nodded in relief. Nobody had found anything remotely suspicious, much to their mutual relief. The last thing any of them wanted was to prolong their stay here when there was nothing else to do. It made Bridger feel a little less bigoted when he recognised his emotions reflected in the other crew members, simply because carrying out such duties were requirements of his job and yet he always balked at the mention on debates between scientists. They were often the most ugly and underhand wars one could get involved with and invariably created the maximum disaster factor.

"Lucas, I'm assuming everything was running smoothly at your end." Lucas suddenly found his mouth like a desert and he swallowed dryly in an effort to moisten his parched throat. His heart was pounding nineteen to the dozen and he could feel the heat rising to his face and sending flushes through his whole body, prickling down his spine. "Um, yeah, nothing special," he stammered. His blue eyes scanned the table rapidly as if expecting to be met by accusing glares but no one seemed to be paying any attention. Bridger droned on for another ten minutes or so, discussing the format of the report they would send out to Noyce and when they would return to seaQuest. Each word was like slow torture to Lucas who knew that with one utterance from him about what Cleo had shown him, they could end up investing in a summer house here. Finally, the captain finished and everyone trooped out to find their allotted rooms for the night. Heading out to join them, Lucas found himself caught by the arm and looked up to see Krieg's face grinning down at him. "Hey, Lucas, need to borrow some..." he nudged the boy, conspiratorially, but Lucas refused to indulge him, "...you know, cologne or anything." He placed deliberate emphasis on the 'anything' part and the teenager felt his cheeks grow hot with colour. God, he could happily murder his so-called friend right now, especially since Ben had failed to notice Bridger's curious gaze cast in the pair's direction. Lucas ran one nervous hand through his blonde hair and quietly shook his head, "No, thanks, Ben. I'm just fine." Somehow he must have mustered up a suitably irritated expression because Krieg just shrugged and wandered towards his room with none of the usual pushing and annoying innuendoes he would normally adopt to rile the boy.
"Lucas, hold up a minute."
Nathan's voice stopped him short of the doorway and Lucas turned to face his captain, trying his hardest to look like there was nothing wrong. "What was that all about?" If it had been anyone else, the teenager would give the offending quiz master a sharp glare and his 'mind your own business' spiel, but that was never very easy when it came to Bridger. The man had provided him with so much support, both officially and as a surrogate father figure, that Lucas could never lie to him, never even hold something back from him. "Um, nothing...exactly." Nathan's stare did not waver as he waited for further elaboration. "Sounds intriguing." Lucas felt his resolve to keep Cleo's secret crumble with close examination from those brown eyes. "Okay, okay. Cleo's here on the station."
Nathan pulled back a step, his mind weighing up the pros and cons of her presence, before patting the boy lightly on the arm. "That's great. What's she doing?"
"Oh, just support work, you know."
"So, you two have been spending some time together?"
Lucas could see where this was leading and he nodded curtly, "Yeah, but don't worry, I'm still getting the work done."
"Okay, that's all I wanted to know." Lucas paused for a moment, wondering whether he should say something about Cleo coming aboard the seaQuest for a while. He was almost out of the door again when he plucked up the courage. "Captain?"
"Yes."
"What would you say if I asked for Cleo to come with us for a while?"
"On seaQuest?"
"Yeah." Lucas waited with bated breath for the reply, watching the captain struggle with the idea of having too highly charged teenagers racing around his boat. "I don't know what her superiors would think of that." Lucas' heart rose at the response; this meant he was actually considering it.
"What if she cleared it with them?"
"I don't know, Lucas. The seaQuest isn't a ferry, you know. It's a military vessel, not a taxi service for your friends." Lucas nodded solemnly, slowly resigning himself to the knowledge that Bridger was going to refuse. Despite his desperate desire to take Cleo with them, he could also see the captain's point and a lot of the boat's equipment and projects were supposed to be kept firmly under wraps. Cleo's position working on the MEDS station was, in itself, a reason not to let her on board in an unofficial capacity.

Nathan saw the boy's face fall as the words left his mouth and there was a large part of him which wished he could say 'yes', but the risks were too great. Seeing Lucas excited about spending time with people his own age suddenly brought it home how lonely the teenager must get on the sub. Perhaps his fascination with computers came as much from enforced solitude as it did for love of the technology itself. Who knew how many deep-rooted psychological problems lay hidden beneath traits and characteristics which everyone had taken to be inherent in Lucas? Yet, despite the pang of guilt Bridger felt for refusing the boy's request, he could hear his voice continue to drone on, boring even himself with the lengthy lecture on UEO security clearance and ethics.

Lucas stood silent for most of it, his brow slowly knitting into a half frown. Whether it was from anger or resignation, Nathan couldn't be sure, but suddenly Lucas pulled his hands out of his trouser pockets and snapped, "You know what, never mind! It was a stupid idea." He strode towards the door, his knuckles whitening as he pulled the door back ready to slam it with all his might, but Nathan called, "Hey, wait a minute!" Lucas angrily released the door and whirled on his captain.
"Spare me the lecture, all right! The answer's 'no'. I get it." Nathan suddenly found himself pausing; what had he intended to say anyway? Lucas was right, it wasn't like he was going to turn around and change his mind after cataloguing the cons of the trip so thoroughly.

Lucas had not moved from his spot in front of the door and was eyeing the captain with an odd balance of brooding hatred but also the lingering hope that Nathan might change his mind once more. Weakly admitting defeat, Bridger said, "Lucas, if things were different..." He stopped, suddenly lost for the appropriate words. Lucas was in no mood for helping him out and simply stood, staring vacantly at the floor. Finally, he asked, "Can I go now?"
Bridger sighed, "Yes, you can go." Barely were the words out before the boy had disappeared into the corridor. He sat down heavily on the edge of the table. As captain of the seaQuest, the most renowned and coveted man-made machine in the water, Nathan had little cause to backtrack over his decisions and amend them. That was one of the principal reasons for luring him back to the UEO. He rarely made a wrong decision and was considered a formidable opponent in every capacity. Yet, he never failed to be amazed at how the emotions of one genius teenager could disrupt everything he stood for. With one look or one word, Lucas reminded Nathan that he was only human, fallible and capable of making the wrong decisions on a daily basis.

Every aspect of naval life was black or white; there were no grey areas to be negotiated or loop holes to be considered and if there were, they were oversights which could be easily corrected by procedure. It was true that Nathan stood undefeated when it came to his track record but that was just the result of many years spent following the procedures he now devised for those below him. It was nothing more than following instructions to the best of his ability, mustering up both diplomacy and good management to get him and his crew by. There was no such handbook for dealing with teenagers and Lucas was often like a spanner thrown into the works of an otherwise smoothly run machine, well oiled and uncomplicated. One instant spent with that boy brought all the complexities of real life flooding back in bright Technicolor.

It was in the middle of this mental rambling that there was a knock at the door. "Come in." Kristin Westphalen's face appeared tentatively round the frame. "Kristin, what can I do for you?" Crossing over to him, she stood beside Nathan and smiled into his worried face. "Actually, I was wondering what I could do for you." He looked at her, puzzled, for a moment. "Lucas just passed me in the hall looking like a thunder cloud. I deduced that he had been with you, so..." Nathan sighed and Kristin sank down beside him on the table edge. "He wants Cleo to come back with us."
"Cleo's here?!" Nathan nodded then rubbed one tanned hand over his chin, noticing the stubble already growing there as if manifesting itself as proof of his haggard state. "But you know I can't!" It was not a statement but more of a query to see Kristin's reaction. Nathan knew he could always rely on her to give it to him straight, no matter how unwelcome the answer might be. "Well, she has been on seaQuest before."
"Yes, but that was a rescue mission. We had no choice."
"And so is this, of a sort."
Nathan shook his head, fervently. "No, this is a scientist being allowed on board a military vessel for a ride to the surface." His eyes widened with vehemence as he stared at the doctor, willing her to agree with him, but she simply smiled. "Oh, come on, Nathan! She is hardly a scientist at her age!" Bridger wagged his finger in her face, accusingly. "That's not the issue here and you know it. It is the principle..." He stopped, suddenly aware of how quickly his voice had soared to unnecessary volumes. Kristin watched him with faint amusement, then crossed her arms. "You're right, though."
"Thank you."
"That isn't the issue here at all." Nathan paused, certain that he wasn't going to like where this conversation was headed. "This has nothing to do with UEO rules. It's to do with your feelings about Lucas." Nathan didn't know quite how to react to that statement. Kristin always prided herself on being frank and today was no exception and, once again, he was dumbfounded. "What do you mean?" Kristin laughed, dryly. It never ceased to amaze her how out of touch most men were with their feelings. It seemed impossible that they could engineer all kinds of problems for themselves and yet fail to see the cause of it right under their noses. "Oh, Nathan! I think that if you search yourself a tad harder, you'll see that this is about you refusing to let a son go." She paused and waited for the revelation to sink in, but Nathan still said nothing so she continued, "You're afraid that if you allow Cleo on board seaQuest, she won't be the only one leaving when you dock." Realizing the impact all this was having on the captain, Kristin put one hand out to rub his shoulder reassuringly before stepping from the room. He needed some time to digest all of this because its repercussions might genuinely result in Lucas leaving seaQuest for good.

Lucas stormed through the hallways, ignorant of the strange stares sent in his direction. He was angry and he had every right to show it; besides, it would do everyone some good to know that they should stay away from him...everyone except Cleo anyway. Right now, all he wanted to do was either punch something, anything, or be with her and hold her, kiss her. God, was this some kind of sexual frustration finally released after being pent up ever since he joined seaQuest? It was kind of frightening how desperate he had become to be close to her now when he had never needed anyone before.
Right now though, he didn't know how he felt. It was like he was being torn apart from the inside by hatred and love, each one refusing to allow the other any kind of satisfaction.

He neared Cleo's room and he could hear the faint, tinny tone of someone listening to music within. He could already imagine what he would find there, a girl half afraid of what she had to go back to above the sea but her eyes shining with vague excitement at seeing him. They were both as bad as each other, incapable of feeling one emotion for longer than a second before a wave of guilt or depression drew them back under. Lucas smiled wryly at this, then a new tide of emotion caught him and he passed her door without looking back, suddenly feeling an urge to be alone for a while. Guilt was the name of his pain today, guilt for getting angry with Bridger when he had been hiding the mining area from him, letting everyone think they could return to seaQuest. How could he live with the burden of that knowledge if the whole centre collapsed tomorrow because he withheld information? Would he be able to live with the burden when Cleo died under its folding structure? It was a question which didn't need an answer.

Turning at the end of the dim corridor, Lucas felt his heart sink. To rub salt in his wounds, he was confronted with the door leading to the mining area and it only served to remind him of the consequences of his actions. What had he been thinking? He had always laughed at the impact women had on some of his fellow crew members - dictating whether they drink or don't, go to bed at ten or midnight. Now, he had infinitely greater problems caused by exactly the same predicament of trying to protect and please a girl. It was ridiculous. Lucas ran one hand through his hair as he always did when he was nervous and turned on his heel, with every intention of returning to Bridger's quarters and telling him everything.

Oh, yes, he had every intention of going back there, tell the captain everything. It wasn't a dangerous lie yet, but it would be if he left it unattended any longer. It was for this reason that Lucas was sitting on Cleo's bed listening to music and doing anything which would keep his attention off speaking to Bridger. He had knocked repeatedly but when there was no answer, Lucas had decided it was best to just go in regardless. He was worried that Cleo was upset or angry and was choosing to ignore him, but she was nowhere to be seen. Wherever she had gone, it hadn't been for long because the bed was still a little warm from where she had been lying and the CD was only half way through its track listing. Lucas found some comfort in the dulcet tones emanating from the hi-fi, it was a small sanctuary from the incessant whirring of the power and air generators above their heads which only reminded him of where he was and what he should be doing.

He knew it was wrong to pry and poke around Cleo's private things, but Lucas couldn't help noticing a framed picture carefully balanced in a niche between the bed head and the light above it. Slowly, he retrieved it from its lodging and stared at the happy faces captured there. It was clearly taken not long after Cleo and the others had been transported to Pearl Harbour and as he leaned closer in, Lucas noticed that she was still wearing the clothes provided for her by seaQuest. The somewhat tattered edges of the photo and a bend in the corner was evidence enough that the picture held a great deal of meaning to Cleo. There were no other pictures in the room at all but everything about Cleo's room pointed to the fact that she was the kind of girl who would have big photo collages all over the place if she had the chance. It was sad to think that she had spent so much time without the opportunity to use a camera, to freeze a special moment in her life. Not only that, she had then removed herself to a place far below the surface of the water with no friends or family, a self-imposed isolation chamber. Perhaps unconsciously, Cleo had cut herself off from everything which had the power to heal the wounds which being stranded on the depot had caused. Lucas casually ran one thumb over the girl's face smiling back at him, a smile which gave such a convincing masquerade of happiness. The very fact that she was back on a sub-station confirmed that she must have been feeling nothing less than utter fear and panic at the prospect of returning to the upper world.

"Lucas!" He jumped up as if he had been bitten by a tiger, almost dropping the picture in surprise. Cleo stood in the doorway, looking diminished, even smaller than usual as if the worry of what he might tell Bridger had truly taken its toll. She entered and closed the door behind her, shutting it with deliberate care as if the act gave them both a chance to collect themselves. "I didn't expect to see you again...I mean, today." Lucas swallowed, a small muscle jumping almost discernibly in his jaw and he placed the photo frame on the table. "I'm sorry, I can go."
"No, you don't have to. I just..." Cleo's eyes searched his face but Lucas didn't know what he should say to her. What could he say? They were no better off than they were before and it was his fault. Eventually, the silence was broken and she asked, "What did you tell him?" Her voice was so quiet that, if Lucas hadn't already known exactly what she was going to ask, he would have had to ask her to repeat the question again. "Nothing." The relief which crossed her face was the most painful thing Lucas had ever seen, knowing that he alone was responsible for it. "I couldn't." Cleo crossed over to him and flung her arms around his neck, drawing him close to her. "Thank you, Lucas." Lucas hesitated before letting his hands respond and squeeze her back. He was uncertain how much damage he would do if he told her that he had also spoken to Bridger about taking Cleo with them back to seaQuest. Instead, he lost himself in the light, fruity scent of her hair and the feel of her even breathing against his neck.

Ben Krieg burst open the cabin door with unnecessary ferocity and, in one angry movement, threw himself onto the bottom bunk, prompting Katie Hitchcock to look up from the manual she had been leafing through. Her mouth gaped open and closed a few times before propping herself up on one arm from the top bunk, staring at the open door as if willing it to magically close by itself. She could already hear Ben muttering something unintelligible but it didn't take a genius, or an ex-wife, to figure that the words weren't pretty. Jumping down from the bunk and slamming the door closed, Katie turned, hands on hips, to confront her ex.
"Lost your way, lieutenant?"
Ben ignored the icy stare and instead responded with an unrepeatable expletive. "Ben? We're not married anymore! You can't just waltz into my private rooms without knocking anymore." He flapped one hand in her direction as if to silence her or wave away the issue, neither of which made Hitchcock very happy. "I mean it, Ben. Get out... NOW!" At first the anger did not register at all until Krieg slowly swung his legs off the bunk and sat up poker straight, eyeing her with a mixture of humble submission and intimacy.
"Hey, Katie, I'm sorry. I guess I just forgot." For some inexplicable reason, the woman found herself relenting as she lowered her crossed arms and gently smoothed her hair in a calming movement. "Just don't do it again." Ben knew her well enough to see when he had weathered the worst of the storm and could safely return to his own predicament. "Sheesh, there's some serious cabin fever going down in this place. You noticed that?"
"What do you mean?" Krieg opened his mouth to begin his rant but paused before patting the space beside him. At first, Hitchcock made no move to join him, determined to defy him in her own room. She'd sit wherever she wanted. Inwardly, she scolded herself for being so ridiculous. This was not some big feminist issue; it was nothing more than playing audience or doctor to Ben Krieg's numerous issues. Besides, he could do with as much help as he could get, so she obliged.
"I just got back from speaking to our illustrious Dr. Wagner to get a few basic details from their stock status reports and he practically bit my throat out." Katie was justifiably suspicious. It was true that many people had adverse reactions to Krieg but they were usually founded on fairly water-tight grounds. "What exactly did you say?"
He gave her a sullen look, "Well, I didn't make fun of his hair or his station if that's what you're thinking."
"Hey, I was only asking." Ben got up from the bed and began pacing, his body tense with pent-up anger and adrenaline. "He was just rude, uncooperative and sneaky! I hate people like that." Katie stifled a smile at this last comment; clearly he hadn't taken a look in any mirrors recently...although the exact opposite had proven to be a problem during their brief marriage. "It was like he was on something, maybe they're testing drugs here or..."
Katie halted him, "Oh, come on, Ben! Don't be ridiculous. They're just scientists, researchers, everyone knows what they're like. They don't like anyone messing with their stuff, getting some scoop before they're done with it. They've become the new conspiracy theorists, suspicious of anyone outside of the clan. It's just the way they are."
Ben was shaking his head, emphatically. "No, it's more. They need to be quarantined! They're rabid!" Katie laughed, "Yeah and it looks contagious." Krieg shot an angry glare in her direction before submitting. His anger was spent and, in retrospect, even he had to admit that the incident seemed somewhat amusing. "Fine, fine, okay. I'll let them live another day in their pathetic, two-dimensional existence, but if they pull anymore tricks..."
"Yeah, yeah, you'll get them for it."

Kristin had been so absorbed in the amazing discoveries she had found in the research labs, she had not even noticed the rapidly passing time. Then she was aware of the bitter sweet smell of coffee lingering under her nose followed by a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We were starting to wonder whether you were ever coming up for air, so..." The hand gestured to the coffee and Kristin looked up to see Dr. Wagner's smiling face. "Pretty impressive, huh?" She stood up stiffly and eyed the cup with distaste.
"Oh, I've had coffee on plenty of occasions."
He laughed, "No, I meant the lab." She nodded, trying to hide the enthusiastic gleam in her eye. It would do no good to show him how excited she had been when the UEO group had arrived here and Dr. Wagner had smug self-satisfaction written all over his face. "The team have noticed how quickly you have made yourself at home here." Kristin opened her mouth to speak but he quickly continued, "Oh, don't get me wrong, I think it's great. Besides, you're looking at some of the most advanced sub-oceanic technology in the northern hemisphere and you probably won't see as much as this in one place again for quite some time." He smiled at her as if he had just offered up the most flattering compliment and the doctor could barely believe her ears. She stared at him dumbly, in disbelief that someone could be so arrogant without betraying the slightest tremor of self-consciousness. This man was a good ten years younger than her and she was already embarking on her marine biology career when he was still in junior high school. Yet, here he was, flashing his equipment at her like a teenager showing off his newly acquired car and then expecting her to be impressed. Part of her wanted to laugh at the preposterous image he presented but, unfortunately, irritation was the only emotion mounting with steadily growing ferocity.
"Well, thank you, Dr.Wagner. I'm very grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Discovering the biological secrets of Mars will pale in comparison, I'm sure." Her tone was hardly cutting but the words were blunt and Kristin felt a glow of satisfaction as she watched him recoil slightly with their bitterness.
"I simply meant..."
"I know what you meant." Kristin cut in, briskly, then thought better of making an enemy out of the chief oceanographer here. She would be doing neither herself or the seaQuest crew any favours if she got on the wrong side of the MEDS scientists at this point. They were hardly grateful for the UEO's presence as it was without rubbing salt in their wounds. She had brought him down a peg or two and that was all she needed to achieve. "However, I have been quite intrigued by your geosphere equipment." Wagner shot her a sceptical but quizzical look as if he were unsure if this were some further joke at his expense. Noting the genuine expression of interest reflected in Westphalen's face, he followed her gaze to the instrument. Moving towards it, Kristin was relieved when he began on a boring spiel concerning its construction and operation. Pushing levers and buttons here and there, he explained the hydraulics in painfully dull and tedious detail while the good doctor donned a convincing mask of utter pleasure and rapture. "Captain Bridger says you have collected some interesting specimens on your travels, especially at Inuvik. If you would like some help, I would be more than happy to..."
"Thank you but no." Kristin said instantly. The possessive I found it first attitude, an unbecoming trait in so many scientists, was rearing its ugly head. She had spent many years cultivating a reputation as a force to be reckoned with when it came to her field, hence the reason she had secured a place on seaQuest. No amount of glad handing or peacocking in front of her was going to make her budge enough to show Wagner her samples. It wasn't that Kristin disliked him exactly, although he was smug and arrogant, but she simply wanted to keep her finds to herself until she had assessed everything and drawn her own conclusions. It was like doing a jigsaw, spending half an hour turning all the unassembled pieces the right side up and sorting out the edges only for someone to come along and finish the middle bit in a mocking gesture of help. "As I'm sure you appreciate, I have been cooped up on a submarine for some time and would like to enjoy this short sojourn on your post in as constructive a way as possible...without interruption."
Wagner shrugged, "Well, that's your choice, but you may appreciate a second pair of hands."
"Perhaps at a later time." Kristin turned away from him, hoping he would take the hint and leave her alone. True, it was she who was the intruder here, but her understanding of chivalry allowed her the privileged position of always being right when it came to what a man should be doing. He should be leaving, having graciously given her the cup of coffee. She shook her head, Some men just don't know when they've reached water log. Lost in her own thoughts, Kristin failed to notice the grim expression on Dr. Wagner's face as he sidled back towards the door, his eyes darting around the lab as if seeking out anything pertaining to her research there. It was like a university student trying to steal an opponent's college mascot, petty yet somehow requiring the stealth and cunning of a practised MI5 employee.

Lucas and Cleo were lying together on her narrow bed, clinging to each other out of a mixture of affection and an attempt to keep from falling onto the floor. They had spent the evening talking about everything, from favourite foods to the meaning of life and Lucas had never felt so happy. His time on seaQuest and the enforced isolation of being a kid genius at Stanford, the constant feeling that he should be living up to someone else's expectations of who he was, fell away. It had been so long, or perhaps he had simply never felt this before, but Lucas suddenly sensed a weight being lifted away and the look on Cleo's face assured him that she felt the same way. In a spontaneous gesture of love, he squeezed her closer to him and kissed the top of her head.
She tilted her chin towards him and offered him a Cheshire grin of contentment, "I wish we could stay like this, that you didn't have to go." Lucas didn't reply. He didn't want to think about returning to seaQuest right now and he didn't want to let his mind build the all too vivid image of the consequences which would inevitably result from not telling Captain Bridger about the tourmaline mine. Cleo levered herself up on her elbow and looked down at him, pensively taking in the intense blue eyes frowning at an empty space above his head.
"What is it?"
Lucas struggled to suppress the negative thoughts racing through his guilty brain and forced a half smile to his lips. "Nothing...just thinking." He hated the way his time with Cleo was so evenly divided between unadulterated pleasure and the tense, unhappiness of being unable to say what was most important to them. Cleo understood so much about him, when only a week ago he would have denied it possible that anyone knew how he felt. How, then, did it turn out that she couldn't fathom what was wrong with him right now? She mirrored Lucas in so many ways but it was slowly dawning on him that their responsibilities were still very different. He had a duty to tell Bridger what he had seen, it was his job to do so. It was as important to him that he be truthful as it was for Cleo to save her job on the MEDS station. All his life, Lucas had been placed on a pedestal like a human freak show, to be looked at and judged. He could just as easily have been hideously deformed, his body ravaged with some rare debilitating disease or be the most stupid person in the universe. It wasn't his talent which people turned to him for or asked for his name on a project, it was the fact that he was only fifteen or sixteen or seventeen. Yet, no matter which problem he dealt with next or how widely his vocorder experiment was known, Lucas never felt like he was doing it for himself. He was simply going through the motions which everyone expected of him, fulfilling a role which had been instilled in him since he was old enough to walk. Now, he had got something for him alone - Cleo, but, as usual, he wasn't allowed to have it. Being a normal teenager was never part of the game plan in the life of Lucas Daniel Wolenczak. God, he couldn't lie here a moment longer when Bridger and the crew were planning on leaving the next morning. He had been asked to do one thing on behalf of the UEO while they were here, to check the systems for anything untoward. Lucas had done just that and in the space of a few hours he had made the decision to put Cleo before the rest of the crew.

He turned to Cleo and ran one hand through her hair and traced down the tender curve of her neck. "Cleo..." She reached for his hand, resting hers over it and smiled. Lucas felt something churning in his stomach at the prospect of how her face would change and darken with the next words he said. Bracing himself and taking a deep breath, he continued, "...I can't do this. I have to tell Captain Bridger about the mine." Cleo's eyes widened momentarily and her face blanched, before she quickly looked away from him. Lucas said nothing, allowing the words to sink in. She took her hand away from his and nodded slowly. "I thought you might."
He sat up on the bed, "You know I don't want to do this any more than you do, but this goes way beyond what we want. If I don't tell him, I'm putting lives at risk - the lives of everyone living at the surface, jeopardizing the UEO's position...and I can't do that. I won't." Cleo still said nothing but nodded again. "Cleo, look at me." Lucas cupped her chin tenderly, forcing her eyes to engage with his. The expression on her face was heartbreaking. He knew that he was taking her life in his hands and crushing it, choosing a faceless government department over a person he claimed to love. It was the same as if someone had told him that he had to leave to seaQuest and then make a place for himself in the world all by himself. Self loathing crept across Lucas' heart; once again the actor was called upon to play his role and stamp out the real Lucas and the things he held dear. This was the chief computer analyst talking, not the teenager who, in the few short hours he had spent with Cleo, had finally begun to feel like a teenager should and discover new things about himself. Or was it? Cleo wasn't the only person here whom he cared about, there was Ben and Katie, O'Neill, Westphalen and, most importantly, Nathan Bridger. He had been more of a father to Lucas than Lawrence Wolenczak could ever lay claim to and the impact of the boy's lies on him would be almost intolerable to witness. "Cleo, this is the only way...but I promise you this. If he won't take you with us then I'll leave seaQuest. We'll face the world up there together, you and me. What do you say?"
Cleo smiled weakly, "I can't ask you to do that, Lucas. seaQuest is your home."
"I don't care! I got you into this mess and I'll get you out. I'm not abandoning you. Besides," Lucas stood up and began pacing the room. Now that he finally voiced his concerns, all the good reasons for telling Bridger and then resigning from the UEO seemed to tumble out so easily. He cared so much for Cleo that somehow the prospect didn't feel like a sacrifice at all but the most natural course for him to take. "I want to be with you and being stuck on a submarine isn't exactly the easiest place to carry on a relationship." Cleo laughed and he could see her face brightening with the realisation that they could actually do this - together. "But Lucas, you know what they'll say, that we're too young to know what we really want, that it's just teenage romance..."
"I don't care! We have every right to find that out for ourselves, don't we?" Cleo stared at him for a moment, her eyes sparkling with renewed joy. Sitting up smartly on the edge of the bed as if preparing for a military inspection, she nodded decisively. "You're right. Let's do it. Let's tell your captain now." Grabbing her hand, Lucas led the way out of Cleo's room and down the hall to where Bridger had set up his temporary quarters.

Nathan had been bored out of his wits sitting in an empty room devoid of all his belongings and, having contacted seaQuest once for a general update, he was loath to do it again. It would only make him seem desperate and either raise suspicions or place him as the butt of everyone's jokes for the rest of the evening, both of which he could do without. He had read through the ridiculously simple blue prints which Dr. Wagner had left with him; they barely required an undergraduate engineering student to tell him whether the project was feasible. Apart from the terrible handwriting scrawled all over the place and rather dubious terminology which Bridger had begun to correct before realizing how mammoth the task was, the plans were sound and he intended to tell Wagner the good news on the way to the launch the following morning. Nathan could feel a smile creeping across his face just picturing the scene of the crew packing up the equipment and heading back to seaQuest, to his own quarters and his own ship where he felt truly in charge. While everyone working on the MEDS station was well aware that Bridger's UEO status placed him well above their own standing, scientists were always the toughest to handle when it came to knowing rank order. Their brains seemed to be built in with an override switch whenever military personnel became involved. They decided that all UEO officials were nothing more than slaves to a ridiculous system, following orders which might one day secure them a place at the top of the food chain to make even more ridiculous decisions about everyone else's lives and safety. This was abhorrent to a people who saw themselves as the pioneers of the planet, the ones who actually gave something useful and productive to society. Nathan hated that attitude but there was very little he could do or say which could change their minds...except for the fact that seaQuest was his own design. The least Wagner and his cohorts could do was show some respect to a man who was not only near the top of the UEO food chain but was also single-handedly responsible for mastering the largest and most advanced underseas vessel in the world.

Bridger was silently huffing away to himself when there was a knock at the door. "It's open." Kristin's face appeared around the frame and a smile broke out across her face. "Oh good, you're still up. Fancy a game of cards?"
Nathan laughed, "Would I ever. This place is driving me nuts." He looked suspiciously up at the doctor as she sat down. "What's the matter with you? I thought you'd be having a whale of a time here with the science team. They seem to have taken to you very well."
Kristin rolled her eyes, "Oh, I've been steering clear of them a bit and anyway," Her mouth drew into a small frown of distaste and she looked at Nathan with the steely glare of someone who would not tolerate any smart responses, "the samples I took off Inuvik didn't turn out to be what I thought." Nathan tried to stifle the smile which threatened to betray him, a mutiny of muscles just begging for a science lecture about the intricacies of algae specimens and their subtle properties. He managed to pull himself together quickly enough to inquire, "Oh, how come?"
Kristin picked up the pack of cards and crudely cut them, shuffling with inordinate roughness. Finally, she said, "Actually it was one of our illustrious MEDS team which picked it up. Apparently they've been farming the plants for some time."
"I see." Nathan took his share of mutilated cards and tentatively asked, "Rummy?" Kristin looked at him defiantly, "Black Jack - I'm in the mood for a bit of action." They began to play in silence and Bridger was beginning to think he should have let her win the last hand when she let out a snort of disgust. "Would you like a drink? I think there is some scotch in that cabinet over there. Whoever used this room last was a genius."
"Make it a double. I tell you, I shall be glad to get back to seaQuest."
Nathan laughed, "That's what I've been saying to myself ever since we got here." He relaxed when he saw a smile breaking out across Kristin's face. "You know, Nathan, if I ever start behaving like some of the people we've met down here, I give you my full permission to shoot me."
"They are an obnoxious bunch, aren't they? I heard Krieg ranting about them earlier, too. I'd say Lucas is just about the only person actually enjoying himself on this trip." Kristin took a sip of scotch and dealt another hand of cards. "A few more hours of this and we'll be catatonic and then we'll be home before you know it."
"I don't think a drunk captain will gain the respect of these people somehow."
"I was talking about the cards."
The pair had lost count of how many rounds they had played, with Kristin finding her form and winning by a long way, when there was a short, quiet knock at the door. Nathan glanced at his watch and shared a quizzical look with the doctor. Opening the door, he was surprised and a little bemused to see Lucas and Cleo, both looking decidedly shifty. "Lucas! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Lucas opened and closed his mouth a few times, then glanced back at Cleo, who was standing behind him as if trying to shield herself from the wrath of seaQuest's captain. "Uh, can I, we, talk to you?" Kristin joined Nathan at the door and Lucas' wide, blue eyes skittered in her direction. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know...I just..." Bridger opened the door wider and stood aside, "No, Kristin and I were just talking. What did you want to talk about?" Lucas stepped into the room, looking around warily as if he were expecting it to be booby trapped or something. Cleo clung to his hand, only releasing it when they sat down at the table. All eyes turned to the empty scotch glasses and cards laid out on the table and Lucas was momentarily thrown by this. Drinking and gambling on the job was certainly nothing he could ever have imagined of Captain Bridger and Lucas wasn't sure whether that made his case easier to plead or even worse. Kristin caught the querying glances and quickly put the cards back in the box before clearing away the glasses to give Bridger and Lucas some privacy.
"What's the matter?"
Lucas tried to form the words in his head, but somehow nothing quite seemed to capture what he wanted to say. All the words sounded too dreadful and melodramatic, as if he had hidden an atomic bomb from them or forgotten to mention that a deadly virus had been released into the atmosphere. "Uh, there's something I forgot to tell you at the meeting this afternoon." Nathan sat up straighter in his chair; this sounded like it was going to be a lot more serious than he had imagined. He had expected it to be another attempt at convincing the captain to let Cleo come with them when they left Anchorage the next day. He sat patiently, waiting out the uncomfortable silence which ensued. "When I did the routine checks, I noticed something...and..."
Kristin returned to the table, slowly easing herself into a chair beside Nathan. The captain snapped, "Noticed what?" Lucas gaped at them both for a few seconds before Cleo stepped in and finished the sentence for him. "There is a mine here. They've just been covering it up for the past few months." Nathan looked at Kristin, who widened her eyes in a mixture of disbelief and warning. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Lucas felt the colour rising in his cheeks, "I just, I...knew that Cleo would lose her job if anyone found out." He finished the sentence quietly, suddenly painfully aware of how selfish and juvenile the reasons sounded, even to him. Looking from Kristin to Cleo, Bridger asked, "Could you leave us alone? Lucas has got a lot of explaining to do." His face was stern and Lucas felt his stomach lurch; he felt so guilty for doing nothing and for withholding information from his captain, a man who had been good to him since the first day he had arrived on seaQuest.

He wasn't even sure if he was breathing as he watched Kristin and Cleo leave, his mind wrapped up in an odd haze of apprehension and uncertainty. Nathan didn't move from his seat and this made Lucas feel even more uncomfortable. It signalled that he meant business, that this was not going to be a friendly father to son chat about responsibilities which he should remember next time. The teenager knew only too well how serious all this had become, and every part of him wished that he could turn back the clock and tell his captain everything the moment it had been discovered. "Captain, I'm sorry," was all Lucas could manage, his voice already growing hoarse and dry.
Bridger nodded, grimly. "You should be." He shook his head, solemnly, and met the anxious blue eyes looking at him from across the table, poised for reprimand. The hardest part of this conversation was knowing exactly what the motives had been behind Lucas' decision to keep all of this a secret and, no matter how trivial it might seem to a captain in the UEO, Nathan knew it meant the world to a teenager. "I want you to tell me everything, from start to finish, about what you discovered, when and why you didn't say anything."

Lucas nodded, swallowing hard. He launched into an account of everything which had happened since Cleo came on the scene, the files which he had looked into and Cleo's reaction when he had questioned her about them. He explained about the tourmaline rock and how beautiful it was, but when he reached the part about what the scientists had been doing with the mineral, Lucas paused. Bridger waited patiently, then asked, "Is that it? Such a small amount of mining is inconsequential. I'm sure Admiral Noyce wouldn't act on that." Lucas stood up, pacing backwards and forwards across the room, running one hand across his jaw. "No, there's more. Cleo told me that Wagner has been using the rock's properties to power the station. It has electrical qualities, making it like an inexhaustible light bulb." Nathan sat back in his chair, "They've found a light source which needs no fuel? My God."

Lucas allowed the information to sink in; after all, he had been equally stunned when he had discovered what this find would mean to the world population. However, he also knew that the MEDS people might have named it as a tourmaline derivative, but its other uses were nowhere near that simple. "There's more. Cleo told me that the rock had been tested on ocean bed life which thrive on it, consuming it. I don't know what the outcome of these tests were, but Wagner clearly thought they were beneficial because he went to a lot of trouble to keep this project under wraps."
Nathan nodded. "Call Cleo back in here and I'll assemble the crew." Lucas headed for the door. "And Lucas?" The teen turned back as the captain shook a finger accusingly at him. "Don't think I'm done yet. You and I will talk about this properly later." Lucas returned a humble look and ducked outside. The deed was done and the captain knew everything, for better or worse. Now, he had to wait it out and try to salvage whatever was left of his and Cleo's life when it was all over.