"I'd rather we discussed it somewhere more private Captain" Ford answered "I think Doctor
Westphalen needs to hear some of this as well."
Captain Bridger was more than a bit reluctant to give into the Commander's request but there
seemed to be a lot more to this scenario than first thought. "Okay Jonathan in my quarters if
you please." he said as he glanced back at the locked door and wondered what had set the
teenager off to use such tactics from his fellow crew members.
When they reached the Captain's quarters, Kristen Westphalen was beginning to unpack her
bags after the meeting and was a little surprised and miffed to see the Commander and Captain
come into the room. She could see that something was wrong as they walked in.
"What's happened?" Kristen asked not wanting to beat around the bush at the tension in the
room.
"Lucas has apparently locked himself in his room and Mr Ford here is about to tell us why."
Bridger told her "Aren't you Commander?" he said in a warning tone.
Ford gulped and took a step back from the looks he got from both the Doctor and the Captain.
He knew that no matter how good he explained this or his intentions at the time, he was going
to wind up being the bad guy in this whole thing and the end result was probably going to be
less than pretty for him.
"Well it's like this Sir" Ford said as he went about explaining firstly about the unauthorised
invasion of personal and equipment that he had not known about and how he had been ticked
off about that to begin with. Then he slowly started to explain his reaction to Lucas's new
security system and the unorthodox demonstration that they had all be subjected to on the
bridge.
"Then there was the argument between Lucas and myself over the new system and things just
seemed to go down hill from there Sir" Ford said his voice almost a whisper by this time due
to the guilt he felt.
"What exactly did you say to him Jonathan" Bridger said in a cool but demanding voice.
Kristen stood behind the Captain using the same stance that he had used whilst addressing
Lucas in front of the whole bridge.
Jonathan reluctantly told the Captain word for word what he had shouted to Lucas and how
he had literally accused him of being the Captain's pet aboard the ship. Bridger seemed to
colour to the same shade of redness that Lucas displayed over the same comments. He was
equally appalled by the Commander's lack of compassion and understanding and his outright
disregard for Lucas's sensitive feelings.
"I suppose he ran of the Bridge crying no thanks to you" Bridger declared hotly. Kristen herself
had thought this outburst very different from the person she had come to know as Commander
Jonathan Ford.
"Um, no actually he didn't and I guess that's why I feel so guilty now" Ford admitted "Lucas
chose to tell me a few home truths of his own" as Ford then went into detail about what the
teenager had said in reply to his words of accusation.
"By the time he finished he was so angry at me and had shouted so much that he was out
of breath, which is the other reason I wanted to speak while Doctor Westphalen was here."
he added.
"Why is that Commander because you thought I would give you less of a tongue lashing at
what you said about Lucas because she was in the room?" Bridger now asked.
"No, because I am genuinely worried that the cough he has is something more than just a
cough. He has been doing it off and on for a couple of days now. Ever since you left and
I thought that it might be a good idea if the Doctor took a look at him. He told me himself
that he went without sleep and food just to get the system finished ahead of schedule." Ford
said.
"Commander, I have to be perfectly honest here and say that right at this moment I am too
angry with you to try and even think of a punishment for you or your untimely outburst"
Bridger now said with force. "I will let my anger dissipate somewhat until I can come up
with the appropriate sentence for such rash behaviour."
"For now, let's just see if we can at least get Lucas to come out of his room. It sounds as
though he was very upset with you when he left the Bridge." Bridger said with concern in
his voice. It was even more so now that Ford had told him about Lucas normal habits of
neglecting himself when he and Kristen were away.
"Your immediate task Commander is to get together the list of people I will tell you about
in a few minutes. The reason for the unscheduled supplies will be explained when I tell you about
the next mission we have been given. Have everybody meet me in the Ward Room. The
Doctor and I will try and get Lucas to attend to because this will involve him too." Bridger
"Sir, I just wanted to say how unbelievably sorry I am for my outburst" Ford now said before
leaving "I know I hurt Lucas's feeling and probably your too without any probable cause. I
just wish I could take the words back again."
"I think it's a little too late for that now Commander" Bridger said as he and Kristen walked out
of his quarters towards Lucas's room.
Commander Ford went about the task he had been assigned. When he walked back onto the
bridge he was met with the same equally cold hard steel reception he had received from Bridger
and the Doctor about his comments to Lucas. He knew he was in the wrong and he would
just have to grin and bear such looks over the next few days.
Ford informed the senior crew members that they were required in the Ward Room for a
briefing from the Captain and all of them obeyed the order and started exiting the bridge.
Back at Lucas's quarters, Ben Krieg had returned shortly after the Captain had left and was
still trying to get a response out of the angry teenager inside. He saw the Captain coming
back with Doctor Westphalen in tow and hoped that they could at least provoke a reaction
from inside the sealed room. He hadn't had any luck so far yet.
"Anything?" Bridger asked the Lieutenant who pounded on the door begging the teenager
to let him in to explain things. Krieg sadly shook his head in a negative reply and once
again rapped on the steel door of Lucas's quarters.
"Lucas, it's me Dad" Bridger now said doing his own knocking at the door. He waited
but all he got back in reply was total silence. Maybe it was a teenage thing and they were
all about to get a large dose of the silent treatment. "Lucas, let me in so we can talk about
this."
Again silence from within.
"Is there a master key to this door?" Kristen now asked Ben. "We really should check on
him. Commander Ford thought that Lucas might be feeling poorly before he came on the
bridge."
This comment only sought to concern Ben more when he realised that his friend might be
in need of medical treatment but was putting his pride before his health. "I think there's
a master to all rooms in a safe on the Bridge. I'll go get it.:" he said and went of to do just that.
Inside the room, the silence was mainly due to the fact that Lucas had fallen asleep shortly
after locking the door to his room. The exhaustion his body felt from the lack of sleep over
the last three days and the onset of whatever was attacking his lungs had caused his body to
feel very tired. That coupled with the crying and the build up of frustrated emotions that he
felt towards the entire crew right now had caused his body to demand rest and he had fallen
into a troubled sleep. His sleep was deep enough not to hear the pounding on his door
from his worried family and friends.
"I found it" Ben Krieg shouted as he ran along the corridor and presented the Captain with
a funny shaped master key. The Captain inserted it into the lock on the steel door and with
a stiff turn to the right managed to unlock the door.
The room was dark so the first thing his hand felt for upon entering was the light switch.
He found the switch and pressed the button to an "ON" position and waited until the room
was bathed in a bright flourescent light. It was only upon illumination of the room that the
trio found out the reason why their pleas to answer the door were being ignored.
Ben knew that this was a time that the Captain and the Doctor would be needed. He knew
that they would inform him if there was anything his friend needed. He was just glad to see
the kid trying to rest. He had heard the teenager coughing over the last day or so and just
hoped that it wasn't anything more than a simple cold.
Bridger entered the room but was careful not to make a sound to wake the boy. He didn't
know why he was being so quiet. They had just been pounding the hell out of the door and
he hadn't heard their attempts.
Laying there on his back with the light shining on his handsome young face, the boy looked
so young and innocent. A lump rose to Bridger's throat when he thought about the hurt
and disappointment that the Commander's words and caused when he wasn't here. Deep
down inside he knew that Jonathan was truly sorry for his words and hadn't meant them.
But they had been said and they had been heard. Lucas had been hurt too many times in the
past to think anything else about the comments than that they were said truthfully.
Bridger could see that the boy had been crying before he went to sleep. He ran his hand
down the silvery tear stained tracks that ran down the length of the boy's soft cheeks.
He had been told that the boy hadn't been sleeping so waking the boy was the last thing
on his mind at the moment. He knew that there were explanations due but right now they
could wait. He would tell the boy all about the new mission when he was fully rested
and everything about today had been sorted out.
Kristen did a rough examination without disturbing the boy. Without her instruments she
wasn't able to gauge much about his physical health other than his sleep was a deep one.
That could be put down to the lack of sleep over the last few days. She could hear a slight
wheezing in his breathing but nothing to be over concerned about just yet. She too would
wait until the boy was rested sufficiently to give him a thorough check up.
"Let's go and have your meeting with the crew about the mission and we can check
on him later to see if he wants to talk about his feelings. Somehow I doubt he will open
up to either one of us." Kristen said with a sigh. Lucas was one of the most unpredictable
people she had ever met when it came to telling anyone about his feelings. She had been
surprised when Commander Ford had told them about his outburst. She supposed that was
one of the reliable things about people who were a closed book. They rarely shared their
feelings but when they did they usually did in at a time that was totally unexpected and in
a way that was part of their persona. He was a tough enough kid, he would get past this
little break in the weather.
Bridger nodded his agreement and they both went out of the room turning the light off
as they left and reclosing the door but not locking it this time around.
Back in the Ward Room, the crew stood as their Captain entered the room to give him
the normal show of courtesy and respect that one demonstrated to their superior officer.
Bridger noted the seating arrangements in the room and saw that Commander Ford was
on the end of the row of chairs. As if he had been cast to the end of the line for his
display on the bridge earlier today.
He saw the looks on their faces and knew that they all wanted to know how Lucas was
before they talked about anything else like the upcoming mission.
"He's sleeping" Bridger said simply "He didn't hear our knock at the door because he
was already asleep. I'll go back and talk to him later on when he wakes up. I think he
is getting a cold or something so his body is in a deep healing sleep at the moment."
"Now to other matters" he said changing the subject, "This mission will involve each
and every one of you. It will only involve the people in this room and Lucas of course.
All other personnel has been informed that they are on a minimum of one week's shore
leave in two hours time. Once we have offloaded most of the crew, we will begin the
necessary preparations for our next mission."
"Why do we have to unload the rest of the crew Captain?" Tim asked on everybody's
behalf.
"The reason they are being unloaded Lieutenant is because this mission will be long
and difficult for all of us. We need to spare as many as possible from those difficulties
except for those who are vital to the operation's success." Bridger replied.
"The most important thing to note first off is to make sure that each of you is issued
with the correct equipment for this mission. When you return to your own quarters,
each of you should have received two new pair of thermal underwear and extra warm
winter clothing to go with it. The reason for the warm clothes is due to our intended
destination." he explained.
"The U.E.O. has been informed by some remote out stations in the Antarctic that there
had been a rogue submarine destroying some of their equipment and stations for an
undisclosed reason. Our task is to track down this rogue sub and bring the crew back
to face charges in a court of law." Bridger stated.
"The Antarctic?" Krieg now asked making sure he had heard right.
"Yes, I am afraid so Lieutenant Krieg. That's what makes this mission so dangerous
and the need to offload as many of the crew as possible. Even with the SeaQuest's
life support system fully functioning, temperatures in the southern waters can reach
temperatures of minus 40 degrees centigrade and the glaciers and underwater icebergs
that will appear in our path from time to time make the mission even more treacherous."
"Now the other thing that you need to note, especially you Commander Ford, is once
we get so far out to sea, we will lose all forms of communication with the outside world.
That's why I have gathered a number of nautical maps and compasses before coming back
so if the need arises and we get ourselves into more trouble, we should be able to plot
our own course back to the main ocean before we all freeze like an ice cube." he added
"Now are there any major questions before we start getting prepared?" he asked.
"Will we able to survive at such low temperatures if the ship's heaters and air-rejuvenation
tanks fail Captain" O'Neill asked.
"Yes, I think with the use of the thermal underwear being distributed and the use of the
warmer clothing, we should be able to cope with most of the cold conditions that we will
experience. There has been an ample supply of long life food stuffs and dehydrated food
brought aboard to see us through for months if we get behind schedule along the way."
Bridger answered.
"Are there any more questions?" he asked for a final time. "Good, then start making your
preparations people because we should be underway in less than three hours and be
near the southern waters about midnight tonight if weather permits. And if I were you
I would make the most of the hot meal tonight from the galley because we are all going
to need the extra nutrition when the cold starts to hit us later on. Dismissed"
Everyone took a moment to look at each other with dubious looks about the dangers
of the mission ahead. They had been in sticky situations before but this sounded a little
more out of the ordinary. They all got up and went to make sure that they were prepared.
"Do you really think we can pull this off Nathan?"Kristen asked with a little uneasiness
of her own about the impending cat and mouse game they were about to embark on.
"Yes, I think so. So long as everyone sticks together and works as a team I think we
will be just fine." Bridger said trying to sound confident. "Now you need to check your
medical equipment and supplies before we head off into the cold water beyond. I'll take
care of things on the bridge until Lucas looks like waking up then I will go and talk
to him and tell him about what's going to be happening over the next week or so."
Kristen gave him a small smile and then left to do whatever preparations she could before
they started their journey.
SORRY - JUST WARMING UP A LITTLE TONIGHT - MORE TO COME - THE
ACTION STARTS SOON I PROMISE.