After about twenty minutes of sitting on the cold mesh floor with his head
resting on his knees, Lucas
sat up straight and started to admonish himself severely.
"Come on, look at you" Lucas started to say aloud to himself, "These people are depending on you when
they are sick and all you can do is sit on the floor and cry like a big baby. Some great help you are going
to be. It's just like Commander Ford said, you need to learn some more Responsibility."
Lucas got up on his feet and started to make a mental list of what were the first things he needed to take
care of. It was all up to him. There was no point in whining or whinging about it. That's the way things
were and you had to lump it, like it or not.
He walked along the cold corridors of the SeaQuest and then sat at the galley kitchen counter trying to make
a list of priorities and roster system. There would be meals to make for everybody even if they were sick.
They all needed to keep up their liquid intake as much as possible and it was Lucas who would need to
see to this. He would need to make up a roster system that enabled him to spend as much time with each
of the crew members as possible without neglecting the other tasks that needed doing.
He had to get to the Bridge first and try to leave a message on the webnex in case some sort of message
could get back through to the U.E.O. that the crew was down and needed assistance. The ship operated
on auto pilot at the moment and that was probably how it would have to stay for the next few hours anyway.
For the next few hours, Lucas barely stopped to take a breath for himself. His head was aching along with
the rest of his body and his eyes were beginning to sting from the tiredness that plagued them. But he kept
telling himself that he couldn't afford the time to take care of himself at the moment. He had to help the
others first. He could worry about himself when the others were much better.
He gave thanks and praise silently to the Captain for the large pot of soup that he had found still on the stove
in the SeaQuest's galley. At least he wouldn't have to worry about cooking until later in the day. He checked
over the other supplies in the galley pantry and found some fruit juices and plenty of water bottles. He had
made a point of going to Kristen's office to see what medications that doctor had on hand, but after looking at
the various names on the numerous little brown bottles in her infirmary. He decided against using any of it and
told himself that it would be better if the crew could just wait out the symptoms like Kristen had originally suggested.
Lucas made his way back to the Captain's room first with a mop and bucket to clean up the spill and make Bridger
a little more comfortable. He had to turn his head away from the ghastly sight and stop himself from gagging at the
smell that resulted from the yellowing liquid on the floor. Bridger had fallen back asleep still with bile on his t-shirt so
once everything else in the room was cleaned up, Lucas went about waking the Captain and helping out of the
stained shirt and into a fresh clean one.
Bridger was half-way between being asleep and fully awake. He could see Lucas's face in front of his own, but
it wasn't very clear as to what was happening. He obediently did anything that Lucas asked him like raise his arms
and lift his legs. Lay down. Sit up. He didn't really know or understand why he was doing all of these things.
He really did feel awful but he didn't know the reason why just yet.
"What's going on Lucas" he said as he was repositioned back on his bunk and the covers placed over him once
again. Lucas placed the pillows behind Bridger's back so that he was sitting up a little higher. He then sat down
on the bed and handed the Captain a cool glass of water. The water was about half drunk when the glass was
returned to his hand.
"Feel any better?" Lucas asked hoping that somehow that glass of water had been the miracle cure. He could
see the fog lifting from Bridger's mind as the Captain seemed to regain some of his lost senses and become more
alert to his surroundings.
"No" came the curt reply as Bridger tried to focus on his protesting stomach muscles. He looked at the teenager
and could see that his response was less than welcome. He put a comforting arm on the boy's shoulder "But it's
not more than I can manage, thanks." he added.
"You've gotten a touch of food poisoning" Lucas explained as he answered Bridger's unasked question of what
was wrong with him. "I came in to see you this morning and you threw up all over the floor."
Bridger's expression changed to one of embarrassment as he heard about being sick. He felt really guilty about
Lucas not only having to witness such a unhealthy display but also clean up after him and help change his soiled
clothes. "Sorry" was the only word he could find to hide his embarrassment.
"S-Okay" Lucas said with a slight grin. "It will remain a secret between me and you."
"You mean Kristen doesn't know about any of this yet?" Bridger asked surprised.
Lucas found himself trying to think of a quick lie but then decided that the Captain's suspicious nature would
soon bore right into his soul and get the correct answer anyway. "She was a little off colour herself this morning
Captain" Lucas admitted trying not to inject any more alarm into his voice than needed.
"You mean Kristen is sick too?" Bridger said as he sat up even more on the bed and almost looked as though he
was about to get up and walk out of the room and find the doctor.
"Yeah, but she is not as bad as you" Lucas lied. "Don't worry, everybody else is carrying on okay without
you and Kristen" he said thinking that the lies were beginning to leave an aftertaste in his mouth. What he didn't
want to reveal to the Captain was the "Everybody else" was sitting right in front of him.
"Are you sure everything is operating on the Bridge okay?" Bridger asked concerned. His head was beginning to
pound from too much thought and he had to tell himself to lay back down or he would be sick all over again.
"Doctor's orders are for plenty of rest and fluids as much as possible" Lucas said trying to reiterate Kristen's
own self-healing regime. "If you get out of that bed, I have been told that I only need to call upon her or any
one of the other crew members and have a large painful sedative administered by way of injection to the posterior
region." Lucas said with a smirk and hopefully enough information to scare Bridger into not venturing out on his
own and finding the true state of affairs aboard his boat.
"She wouldn't" Bridger accused him in a questioning manner. But then the look on his face changed again as
he answered his own question "Yes she would." he said with dismay as he was all too familiar with Kristen's
strong arm tactics when it came to taking care of sick people.
Lucas had laughed briefly but now that he had been sitting down for a few minutes talking, the aches in his body
and the tiredness threatened to overwhelm him if he remained stationary for too long.
"Oh well" Lucas said as he stood up painfully and grimaced without Bridger seeing his face. "Better get back out
there and see where I am needed. I should be back to see you in an hour or so. Now remember, no getting out
of bed for any reason. If you want something, please use your comm-link and I will come to you." he warned.
The boy's pale complexion and dark circles had not gone completely unnoticed by Bridger. "Are you alright
yourself Lucas?" he asked trying to put his own sickness aside to study the tired looking teenager in front of him.
"Me?" Lucas asked trying to sound surprised. "Yeah you know me Captain. Too many late nights playing
computer games. Not enough meal times at the mess. I'm fine really. I am just going to help out where I can
for a few hours and then have an early night." he explained.
Bridger seemed to be satisfied with the explanation for the time being. He nodded his agreement "See you later
then" as Bridger settled himself back down in a laying position on his bed ready to get some of that rest Lucas
had been talking about earlier.
Lucas exited the room and closed the door quietly behind him. He picked up the tray of juices and water that
he had deliberately left outside in the corridor to avoid causing any suspicion and started walking towards Kristen's
quarters.
Back on board the rogue sub only a few nautical miles away from the SeaQuest in the freezing waters outside, William
Murphy was sitting down at his own table quietly contemplating how sick the crew of the SeaQuest might already
be from his little undetected gift. He would wait a few more hours until late that afternoon to contact the ship and
get a true assessment of her disablement. With all of the crew sick from food poisoning, taking her over and
using her crew as hostages against the U.E.O. should prove easy enough he told himself and his crew of two.
When Lucas reached Kristen's quarters, he set the tray outside the door again and then knocked briefly before
quietly opening the door and walking in. He knew that Kristen probably didn't hear his knock anyway but it
was still the right thing to do.
Kristen appeared to be asleep as he neared the bunk. He was about to set the bottle of juice on the table
and go about see to some of the others first when he saw the doctor open her eyes and look back at him.
"Lucas?" Kristen said as she tried to clear her own mind and remind herself about what had been going on.
"What are you doing here?" she asked without thinking.
"Thought you might have been able to use this" he replied with a lop-sided grin. "And thought you might be
able to use some company for a few minutes" he added.
"That is very thoughtful of you Lucas" she replied as she manoeuvred into a sitting position and took the bottle
of apple juice that was offered and sipped at the contents. It wasn't the best around, but it would help alleviate
the nauseous feeling in her stomach at the moment more than any other beverage.
Kristen was a little more quick to pick up on Lucas's tiredness than the Captain. She too was worried about
the teenager. She had heard him coughing when he entered the room. "Lucas you look like you need this a lot
more than me at the moment" she said gently. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah" Lucas found himself repeating his speech to Kristen as he had given Bridger but a few minutes ago "Just
too many late nights playing the computer games. Just told the Captain that I would get some rest shortly."
"Oh so the Captain is okay is he" she asked a little thankful that it was only her that was sick from the food poisoning.
"I just came back from the Bridge." Lucas lied. "He said to give you strict instructions not to leave this bed for
any reason until you were better or you would be in big trouble."
"Oh did he now" Kristen said as she tried not laugh at the orders she had apparently been given. "Well I've got
a few words to say to Captain Bridger" she remarked.
Lucas put a gentle but restraining arm on her leg as she attempted to get out of bed and confront him about his
medical advice "He really is concerned for you Kristen. He just wants to make sure that you are okay and
taking care of yourself. There's more than enough other people around to take care of the SeaQuest."
The speech seemed to have the right effect that Lucas was looking for and she was questioning herself even now
about her plans to get out of bed. One more full day of rest couldn't hurt. She didn't want to feel like she was
in the way she told herself.
Lucas could see that his sentiments had worked to some degree. "Okay Lucas, you and the Captain win. I
will stay in bed for today. But as soon as I am feeling better again, the Captain and I are going to have a
nice little chat."
Lucas laughed out loud but inwardly winced for his dad as he knew all too well what "a nice little chat" meant
from Kristen. Lucas had better make sure that he made himself scarce when the two of them got talking together
about what had actually been said to one another.
Over the next two hours, Lucas went from room to room making sure that everybody had what they needed to
start feeling a little better. He made sure that there was plenty for them to drink. Miguel Ortiz and Tim O'Neill
had promised him that they had no intentions of getting out of bed today. They both told him how rotten they
really felt and both of them had plans to sleep for the majority of the day. Lucas had told them that their rostered
duties had been filled by others and that the rest of the crew could manage without them until they were feeling
100% again.
Commander Ford had been the hardest to convince that he needed to rest for the day. Being a military man, it
was very rare for Jonathan to take a day's sick leave. In the past he had managed on a number of occasions to
successfully complete his shift while not feeling the best. It had taken a similar sort of threat about Kristen
administering a sedative in the butt to the dark-skinned Commander to get him to rethink his protests about taking
a day off. Lucas had told him that the Captain had filled his shift for him and everything was still running smoothly
without him.
"Here I am trying to tell you to learn some Responsibility Lucas, and look at me" Ford said as he took a bottle
of orange juice from the teenager. "I feel really guilty that somebody, especially the Captain has to fill in for me.
I should be up on the Bridge attending to all the important things."
"Those other important things, as you put it Commander" Lucas replied " can wait until you are feeling better.
Food poisoning is not a something to joke about. You need to let your body rest and recuperate for the rest
of the trip. We have only just arrived in the Antarctic and possibly have a few days down here in the cold.
We need you working at your best, not when your tired and sick." Lucas finished his speech and then started
to cough again. The cough had turned from a slight tickle into a deep burning sensation in his chest every time
he took a breath. His lungs felt like they were starving for every breath of air. His breathing was getting
noisier. He got up and was about to walk away when Ford something that made him turn around and listen.
"I'm sorry Lucas" Ford stammered. "I shouldn't have said those words I said the other day about Responsibility.
I had no right to tell you any of that and I am sorry about what I said about you and the Captain Lucas. You
deserve better treatment of that and I am ashamed for the hurt that I caused you. Can you forgive me please?"
Lucas looked back at the Commander with respect and admiration in his eyes. He admired the man for having
the guts to come out and say he was sorry. He had earned Lucas's respect long before today.
"You don't need to apologize Commander" Lucas said. "Maybe it's me that needs to say how sorry I am for
shouting at you the other day. Sure some of the things you said hurt. But maybe they hurt so much because
some of them hit home. Although I try and do my best here, there are a few times when I need pulling back onto
the straight and narrow. I just hope that when those times come again, it's you Commander that is there to give
me that swift kick in the rear that I need to get me on track again. The thing about Bridger and I, well maybe
that's true, maybe not. I am not ashamed to call him my dad but I am ashamed for him to call me his son without
earning it sometimes." he said and left the conversation unended. He have a small smile and left the room and
headed towards his last point of call before heading back to the kitchen and the Bridge, Ben Krieg's room.
Of course Ben Krieg had to be different from everybody else aboard who was feeling the effects of the food
poisoning. If there was one thing that remained the same on this ship it was the fact that Ben Krieg let everybody
else know he was around. Today was no exception to that rule and probably worse than normal. Where the
others had tried to hide the fact that they were sick or at least keep it low key, Ben let Lucas know from the
moment he walked in that he felt awful.
Lucas approached his friend's bed and could hear the over-exaggerated moaning that came from the Lieutenant.
He rolled his eyes at his friend's ability to act out even the mildest symptoms into life-threatening spasms of
pain and despair.
"How are you feeling Ben?" Lucas asked already knowing the answer to the question.
"How am I feeling?" Ben said answering with the same question. "I'll tell you how I am feeling Lucas, terrible,
just terrible. I feel as though my insides have been ripped out, turned inside out and then shoved back in again.
My stomach hurts so much I think that I never want to see a morsel of food again in my entire life. Have you
got any drugs on you Lucas huh?"
"No Ben, the doctor said rest and liquid only until the symptoms go away" Lucas told him. "I am sure you will
start to feel better soon buddy." Lucas found himself sitting on the edge of Ben's bunk now. Tired and exhausted
himself from his own bout of sickness. Unlike Ben however, he was the worst at trying to hide his pain and
discomfort from everybody else.
"How bout you lie down on the other bunk over there and take a nap yourself Luke" Ben suggested as he could
see the tiredness etched on the teenager's face. He felt a little guilty now at just how much he had exaggerated his
own sickness when he looked at Lucas. The kid looked tired and the cough he had was becoming harsher and
more frequent.
"Nah, I'll be alright Ben" Lucas said getting up off the bed in a hurry before Ben could get a closer assessment of
just how poorly he actually felt. "Just got a couple of small jobs to do first and then it's lights out for me too."
he lied. "I'm just here to make sure that you are looking after yourself enough."
Lucas had made it all the way to the door and almost outside when Ben asked the question he dreaded "Whose
looking after you but Lucas?". Lucas had closed the door without answering his friend's question.
**************************************************************************************
With the crew now all relatively comfortable in their own beds and having sufficient liquids with each of them to see
them through the next few hours alright, Lucas turned his attention to the Bridge and trying to get a message through
to the people at U.E.O. headquarters.
He had done the necessary preparations in the galley kitchen for the soup. He would visit them all again later that
afternoon and give them each a bowl of the watered down soup. He had added what he thought was enough to
make it stretch out between them all. He just hoped that it still had some taste to it. As he left the kitchen to
go to the Bridge, he took the roster he had drawn up with him to check over and made any adjustments while
trying out his distress messages.
He walked onto the Bridge and parked his thin frame onto the Captain's chair. He put the roster down on the
small slanting table in front of him and forced his eyes to focus on the various controls on the console so that he
could send a message. The ship's engines seemed to be running smoothly enough on auto pilot. They gave
a reassuring hum as they continued to keep the ship's life-support and various other vital parts in motion.
Lucas found his own brain becoming foggy from the aches and pains in his limbs. His chest felt so sore and
his was coughing almost continually now. He lifted his hand up to brush away some of the locks of blond hair
had fallen in his eyes, only to feel his forehead and notice that it felt quite hot to the touch. He forced himself
to look back at the task at hand and told himself that he still couldn't worry about his own wellbeing until the
others were recovered.
At some point, without even realising it, his body just gave out and he fell into a deep exhausted sleep whilst
still sitting in the Captain's chair on the Bridge. His head rested on his hand on the console and he was
undisturbed for the best part of an hour. His rest was short lived though as the main screen kicked into life.
The sound had startled him so much that he accidentally tumbled out of the chair he had been sleeping in and
onto the Bridge floor. He could see a face appear on the screen, but instinct told him that it would be best
if he stayed out of the line of vision for the time being.
It was at this moment that William Murphy decided to make his first contact with the SeaQuest and her crew.
"Attention Captain Nathan Bridger" Murphy said in a commanding voice. The man on the screen didn't seem
to be wondering if Captain Bridger was at all present, the man kept talking as though he just assumed the
Captain would normally on the Bridge of the SeaQuest at the appropriate time of this message.
"Captain Bridger" Murphy repeated. "You don't know me, but my name is Sergeant William Murphy. I am
in command of a submarine only a few hundred metres away from your vessel. I am of the belief that most
of your senior crew has been struck down with some sort of illness that has made you vulnerable. This piece of
news is vitally important to me and my crew as we aim to capture your vessel the SeaQuest. We will board
her at our time of choosing, and when we do, you will obey every direction given to you and your crew and
surrender your command at once. If you co-operate in this manner, your crew will be captured, but not harmed
in any other way. You are all to be held hostage until further notice and until our list of demands to the U.E.O.
headquarters is met."
Lucas found his breathing becoming even more shallower from the fear he felt as he heard the threatening words
over the loud speaker. He was thankful that he was currently hidden from view and tried to squish himself up against
the desk anymore to mask his presence. What was he going to do now he asked himself. How did these people
know about the crew being sick? He couldn't fight off these people on his own and doubted that help would arrive
from anywhere nearby.
"Please do not be fooled Captain Bridger" the voice continued "My vessel is prepared to torpedo your vessel
should you attempt to run from us or attempt to stop our mission in any way. Should any of your crew not
co-operate to the fullest, they will be dealt with very harshly indeed. I will contact your ship in three hours
precisely to hear your response to my demands." and the transmission was quickly terminated and the screen
went dark almost immediately.
Thoughts started to run around Lucas's head about people storming aboard the SeaQuest and taking the crew
hostage. What was he going to do? He found it difficult to think straight given his fear and his present health
condition. At least the incoming transmission was enough to bring him fully awake again. He didn't know how
long he could keep awake for this time, but he needed to stay alert and stop these people from taking over the
SeaQuest.
His mind started wandering over events and conversations that had taken place over the last few days. Suddenly
an idea struck him. He had been asking himself about how he would fight these people off alone when the idea
came to him that maybe he could fool the would-be terrorists into thinking that the crew were ready to fight back
and defend the boat. He started to think about the tape he had played a few days earlier on the Bridge using
the characters of the crew that he had generated in the computer. If he could re-configure the program and
add a few lines of command into the whole thing, when they contacted the SeaQuest again, he might be able
to play part of the tape and fool them into thinking that there was a full and fit crew aboard ready to fight back.
It would take a number of hours to complete, but if he worked non-stop he might be able to do it in about
an hour if he was lucky.
He forced his aching and feverish body off the Bridge and towards the ship's galley. He had approximately
three hours before the terrorists made contact again. He could make sure that the crew were feed and had
enough to drink first. Once they were all comfortable again and taken care of, he would be able to work
uninterrupted on the program and hopefully have it ready to play when the transmission started again in three
hours.
Lucas reheated the soup into six bowls and placed a glass of water on each tray. He would have to take
one tray at a time, which meant a few trips back and forth to the galley, but it couldn't be done any other way
without arousing suspicion about them all being the only person sick at the moment.
One by one Lucas took the tray of soup and glass of water to each of the patients and made sure that they
all had enough blankets to keep them warm. He stopped and talked to each of them as long as he dared so
as to keep up appearances. He told them all that they looked remarkably better than earlier and told them
that he thought they would be recovering well by the morning.
Each of the crew had asked Lucas if he was alright as they heard the boy's nagging cough and saw his blood-shot
eyes. He promised them all that he was fine and would be retiring to his own bed just as soon as he left each one
of them. Nobody thought that the kid would outright lie to them and they felt guilty about being rough with him when
he looked so poorly so they refrained from asking too many questions.
By the time he had given out the last tray of soup and juice and returned to the galley, Lucas was on the verge of
collapse. His legs had turned to jelly and trembled from the fatigue and pain that racked his body. He supported
himself by using the counter and waited until he thought the trembling had subsided slightly before making his
way back to the Bridge ready to work on the program and get ready for the transmission from the terrorists in
under two hours.
Lucas looked up at the clock and told himself that he needed to work faster. The images and letters on the computer
screen were beginning to become blurred and unrecognizable. He fought with his body to keep going until the task
was completed. When it was all done he told his body that he would rest for just a little while. The truth being once
he was finished it would be time to play nurse again and see that the crew were still going okay. The program had
taken longer than he anticipated and even now he didn't now whether or not the people watching the tape would
be fooled by the performance. He had been forced to add in quite a number of extra characters into the Bridge
shot and that caused the image to distort a little when played back. He had to hope that the people concerned
weren't looking too closely at the scene when they contacted the ship.
He had only just managed to over lay the generated images onto the screen imaging equipment when the screen
came to life again and Lucas could see the man who called himself William Murphy.
William Murphy was getting an image at his end and was about to ask Captain Bridger whether or not he was
prepared to surrender his vessel when he stopped and surveyed the screen in front of him. Something was
dreadfully wrong. He could see what looked like a full crew in view aboard the Bridge of the SeaQuest.
The crew was only supposed to be skeletal in numbers to begin with and then most of them were supposed to
be sick due to the food poisoning. From what he could see it looked at though the SeaQuest currently carried
a full and able crew ready to defend the vessel against any attack he had in mind.
He could see the dark-skinned Commander he had been led to believe was Commander Jonathan Ford, the
vessel's second in charge. He could see the Chief Engineer at her post and the radar monitor and the
communication people at their consoles. He had to go about and think about his plan before making any
rash decision. He quickly disabled the transmission and froze the image of the Bridge that he was receiving
on his submarine.
Back aboard the SeaQuest, Lucas gave a small cheer of triumph. It was all that he could manage at the
moment. He knew that his idea about using a fake crew had worked but he really was too sick and tired
to care anymore. He looked over at the clock and told himself that he needed to get some more stuff from
the kitchen and do his rounds again to the rest of the crew. It was almost 6.00am in the morning now.
His fever had increased slightly and the heat radiating from his body now gave him a false sense of feeling
warm from the cold corridors. He was about to look at his hand-drawn roster and work out what he needed
when his legs suddenly gave way on him and he found himself sitting on the galley floor. He had his back leaning
up against the row of cupboards below the counter. Little did he notice that he was in a small niche in the room
that made it impossible to see from above unless somebody walked to behind the row of cupboards. He didn't
feel his head bowing towards his chest as he fell into a deep sleep again. His mind was clouded by the fever
and the aches. He drifted off and sat on the cold hard floor without even realising he had fallen asleep. His body
just gave out. Couldn't go any further. The fatigue, the fever, the pain had all but caught up for him and the
tired boy slept.
****
On board the rogue submarine, one of Murphy's crew members was studying the screen and looking at the
image a little closer than his boss. He thought that the image looked a little strange and thought it best to
voice his opinion.
"Something's wrong with that picture" he said still watching the screen.
Curiosity got the better of Murphy at this statement "What do you mean?"
"Well it doesn't look real, something's wrong with it. It looks all bent out of shape if you know what I mean.'
the man explained.
"Yeah, now you mention it, it does look kinda strange. What could it mean?" Murphy asked.
The man had some computer skills and had been hired on this mission to hack into some of the SeaQuest's
computers. He wasn't the best but he could get in most back doors if he tried. He played with the image for
a few seconds before speaking.
"It's a fake" he said when he finally realised what was in front of him. "It's a damn good one, but it's not real."
"What do you mean it's not real?" Murphy asked in anger. His blood started to boil at the thought that his
carefully constructed plan was about to come apart at the very seams.
"It's like a cartoon. Somebody made up the characters and put them on the screen to fool you." the man replied.
"I got to tell you though, in my experience, whoever did this is a real pro. I mean I have never seen anybody this
good before. I doubt many people could have pulled this off."
Murphy's mind started thinking back to the mental list he had in his head of who was aboard the SeaQuest and
their abilities. He didn't remember seeing anybody listed with extraordinary computer skills. There were a few
technicians mentioned, but nobody with the skills that were needed to pull off something like this. Who was this
mystery person that was aboard the SeaQuest?
"See if you can hack into the SeaQuest's personnel files and tell me who's responsible for this little charade." Murphy
said to the man. "While your there see what else you can dig up."
About ten minutes later, the man turned around in his chair ready to give his answer to Murphy. "I managed to
get into the personnel files but that's about all. Whoever designed the security system on that boat has got to be
number one with computers. I couldn't have hacked into the toilet system without leaving a trail back to us a mile
wide. I found your list though and I think I have our suspect." the man left the sentence unended and pulled up
the photograph and background description of one of the people aboard SeaQuest.
When Murphy first saw the photograph even before reading the education stuff he had his doubts about this
being the right person "Are you sure you hacked into the SeaQuest personnel files?" he asked as his gaze was
focused on the picture of a blond haired teenager about 17 years of age. What was somebody that young
doing aboard the SeaQuest. Who was he? If he was aboard, he wasn't on the list that Murphy had stolen
from the U.E.O.
"Yeah I'm sure, and I'm sure he's the one we are looking for. Just look at his background." the man said
as Murphy started to read the kid's education and history. He could see the mention of the genius I.Q.
About the graduation from Stanford College at the age of 14 and then the posting to SeaQuest as the Chief
Computer Analyst before the age of 16. He was definitely the one alright. He had the know how and the
skills by the looks of things.
"And look what else I managed to discover" the man announced as he displayed Lucas's unread message
to the U.E.O. about the entire crew being sick and needing help urgently. Lucas had mentioned in the
message that he too had been feeling poorly but felt strong enough to keep caring until help arrived.
This information only made Murphy more determined to get even. Not only had things such as teenagers
being aboard submarines been kept from him while he worked for the U.E.O.. But they had been duped
by a kid. A God Damned, blond haired kid only 17 years old had destroyed the plan he had made for
months to take over the SeaQuest. He read the kid's name was about to make a third communication
to the SeaQuest and Mr Lucas Wolenczak.
On board the SeaQuest, Captain Nathan Bridger awoke in his room and looked around the room. The
clock told him that it was 7.00am in the morning. He rubbed at his eyes and forced himself a bit more awake.
He sat up slowly at first, waiting for the wave of nausea to hit him. It didn't come. He waited for the throb
in his head to start, but it didn't. It looked as though the worst of his sickness was over. He still felt a little
stiff, but that was probably from being in bed for a whole 24 hours. Surprisingly he felt hungry too. Yesterday
he scarcely wanted to even look at food, but today his stomach felt a lot better.
Bridger put on his robe and slippers and was about to come out of his room to check on things around the ship.
Lucas's threatening words from Kristen briefly echoed in his mind, but he felt strong enough today to fight off
the red-haired doctor if necessary. Kristen's quarters was only a few metres from his own so he decided to
stop there briefly first before trying to find Lucas. He had remembered how tired and pale the kid had been
looking yesterday and wanted to make sure that he was resting okay.
As he got to Kristen's door and was about to knock, he was surprised to have the door opened for him by
the doctor herself.
"Good morning Nathan" Kristen said greeting him cheerfully. She too felt a whole lot better than the day
before. She had remembered Lucas telling her about the Captain being sick and wanted to check on him
now that she was back on her feet a little.
"I-I" Bridger started to stammer as he quickly tried to think of an excuse for his being found out. His attention
however was drawn from his own thoughts to that of the doctor's attire. She was dressed still in her own bath
robe which would suggest that she too shouldn't be out of bed.
"What are you doing out of bed Kristen?" Bridger asked in a cool but mock tone of voice.
"I'm a doctor thankyou Captain and I can judge for myself when I am well enough to get out of bed" she retorted
back. Her gaze also fell on his attire. She was not used to seeing the Captain in such informal attire when he was
aboard the boat.
"You're not sick too are you?" Kristen said with worry in her voice.
"Am I sick too?" Bridger asked confused. "I have been in bed since yesterday. I felt awful all day yesterday.
Lucas came in and looked after me the whole day practically."
"He looked after me practically the whole day as well. I couldn't get out of bed yesterday either I am afraid."
Kristen said with a little guilt in her voice. But then her mind went back to what Lucas had first told her
"But he told me that I was the only one who was sick." she said suspiciously.
"He told me that you were sick but nowhere near as bad and I was. He said other things around here
were normal. That the rest of the crew were handling things just fine without me." Bridger said.
They both looked at each other and knew that Lucas had been less than forth coming with them about
just who and how many people had been sick over the last day or so.
"Let's just see where the rest of the crew is shall we" Kristen said as her concerns started to grow for
the rest of the crew. She remembered how tired and sick Lucas had seemed last night when he came
in. She was telling herself that it wasn't possible that everybody aboard the ship was sick but the boy.
It couldn't be true could it.
Bridger's eyes seemed to hold the same realizations and their pace towards Commander Jonathan Ford's
quarters increased steadily. When they knocked on the door and were greeted by a still sick looking
Ford, their suspicions were aroused even more. They asked Ford about his last day or so aboard the
ship. He reluctantly told them that he had been violently ill from food poisoning and that Lucas had taken
care of him all day. Ford proceeded to tell Bridger about his little revealing conversation with Lucas
and what the boy had said about responsibility and how he sometimes felt less worthy of being Bridger's
son because of his lack of judgment.
Bridger cursed himself and inwardly groaned at the comments and knew that he had to talk to Lucas and
tell him that he would always be a son in his eyes. Lucas had been the one person to bring this tired old
sea captain back from the brink of destruction. Bridger would have resolved himself to stay on that island
alone forever and never know what it meant to care for someone again. That had all changed when he had
reluctantly came aboard the SeaQuest and met one blond haired, blue eyed teenager full of mischief and
attitude. He wouldn't have changed anything about the delicate relationship that had formed between him
and the boy. He would give his life for him if that what was required. He loved the kid more than words
could possibly say.
Bridger and Kristen relayed their own experiences to the Commander as well as their being told that nobody
else was sick. The three of them quickly moved through the remaining crew members of Miguel, Tim and
Ben to find the same result. They had all been sick. Lucas had been taking care of them all single-handedly.
They all mentioned how sick looking Lucas had appeared to them when caring for them. They all had said
that Lucas's cough sounded worse and that the boy was looking even more fatigued.
Once question remained on their lips. If Lucas had been taking care of them all on his own while he was sick.
Where was he now? Had he been taking care of himself? They all doubted that. All six of them started hurriedly
towards Lucas's quarters hoping to see the boy curled up asleep in his own bed and resting or at least find him
in order to give him a tongue-lashing. All of them felt incredibly guilty about Lucas having to take care of them
all. How did he do it all on his own, while he was sick?
Upon reaching Lucas's door and opening it, they were all disappointed and dismayed to find the room completely
empty. That meant that Lucas was still wondering around somewhere while sick, still trying to take care of the
whole crew. They had to find him.
They all headed towards the most likely place, the Bridge. They reached the Bridge but could not see Lucas
anywhere in sight. They could see that he had been sitting at the Captain's console. They could see the hand-
drawn roster on the desk that Lucas had constructed in order to care for them all at the same time. They all
looked on with shock and amazement at the boy's ingenuity but they also saw that the roster left little time for
looking after himself or getting some much needed rest. They needed to find him.
The crew members on the Bridge were all a little startled to hear the main screen in front of them whirr into
life as William Murphy decided to call out Lucas's bluff and address the SeaQuest again.
"Well, Mr Wolenczak" Murphy started without really seeing the crew in front of him. He assumed that the
boy would be out of sight, especially if he was all alone like it appeared.
"I must congratulate you on your performance." Murphy said "You are a very clever young man. You had
us fooled for a while there. But now it's all over. We have discovered your little game but now it is time to
get back to our demands and our plan to take over SeaQuest. We know that you are all alone and not
feeling the best."
Bridger and everybody else just looked at each other. This was the first time any of them had heard any of
this conversation. Who was it on the screen? Why were they talking about taking over the SeaQuest? How
did they know Lucas's name. Had Lucas been talking to these people while everybody else was sick?
They didn't have the answer.
"You might want to re-think your current employment situation Mr Wolenczak and come and join my organisation.
We could use a smart young, innovative person like yourself. My little operation plans to kick big operations like the
U.E.O. where it hurts. I would be happy to negotiate some terms with you if you would just acknowledge your
presence to me. I promise you no harm, you are too valuable an asset to simply kill."
The conversation had turned nasty and the man was using the words "Kill" and "Lucas" in the same sentence and
that just made Bridger see red. He pushed the button on the communication panel that would allow his voice to
be heard by the mystery speaker.
"Listen here whoever you are, I am Captain Nathan Bridger of the SeaQuest. I don't know what your little game
it but I don't like it. This vessel is fully operational and ready to defend herself if necessary. If you plan to launch
an attack on SeaQuest then I suggest you think again. I don't like having members of my crew threatened or
coerced into anything. Am I making myself perfectly clear. I suggest you surrender your vessel and allow us to
escort you back to U.E.O. headquarters. You and your crew will be given a fair trial."
Murphy was stunned to hear Bridger's voice and note the amount of venom in it. It didn't sound as if this man
was supposedly very sick. He gave the order to start the engines and was about to make a run for it when he
heard Bridger's voice over the link again.
Ortiz had made his way over to his console and had targeted the rogue submarine and was about to take any
further instructions as necessary.
"Ready Mr Ortiz" Bridger inquired over the loud speaker.
"All four torpedo tubes ready to fire Captain" Ortiz answered with confidence.
Murphy paled a little when he heard that the SeaQuest had a target lock on his vessel. He knew he wouldn't
be able to outrun the torpedo's nor survive any sustained attack should the weapons actually strike his boat.
At the moment he had no choice but to surrender and let himself and the crew be lead back to U.E.O. headquarters
as was being suggested.
"Okay Captain Bridger, I surrender my vessel and my crew. But I warn you this little battle isn't over yet between
me and the U.E.O. I want them to understand what they did to me was wrong. I want them to know that William
Murphy is a name to remember." He told himself that there would be opportunities for payback and he would be
able to re-establish a new plan once they arose again. There would be time for revenge against all of them, Captain
Bridger and the SeaQuest crew, the U.E.O. and Mr Lucas Wolenczak.
"Yeah, Yeah Yeah" Bridger said in an uninterested tone and allowed Commander Ford to take full command
of the Bridger while he, Ben and Kristen took on other important matters. Those that consisted of finding one
sick and missing teenager.
Bridger walked off the helm determined to find Lucas. Where would he be? he asked himself. There were a
number of places that the boy could be. The trio walked towards the moon pool first. Darwin came up to
them and greeted them with chirps and whistles before they were translated through the voice recorder as
Lucas need Bridger. Lucas need Ben.
These words from only a dolphin only confirmed their fears about Lucas being very sick and only caused them
to worry even more. "Do you know where he is Darwin my friend?" Bridger asked with urgency
"Lucas in place were food is made" Darwin chirped.
"He must be in the galley kitchen" Kristen shouted out loud as she tried to interpret Darwin's crude vocabulary.
All three of them started off towards the kitchen to find Lucas.
When they reached the galley their hopes dropped a little when they looked around the room from the front
entrance and failed to see any sign of the teenager. They were all asking themselves what other place Darwin
could have meant when something made Ben Krieg walk into the galley around the counter and row of
cupboards.
He couldn't hide the gasp of shock or dismay that escaped his lips as his eyes fell upon a most heart-wrenching
site on the floor. Lucas was now laying all the way on the floor, his head resting in the crook of his extended
right arm.
"He's back here" Ben shouted at the other two. "Oh Lucas what have to done to yourself" he asked the teenager
as he knelt down beside him to see if he could rouse him at all.
"Lucas" Bridger and Westphalen shouted in unison as they rushed forward into the galley and saw what Krieg
had seen upon entering the room.
Bridger knelt down as well on the cold hard floor and placed a hand on the boy's cheek. He was alarmed by
the heat that he felt in the boy's skin and immediately asked for Ben to make way for Kristen to take a look at
Lucas.
Bridger had tried calling the teenager's name a few times along with Ben, but Lucas didn't seem to hear either
of them. They could see that pale and wan complexion and hear the gasping wheeze escaping the boy's
parted lips as he drew each breath.
Even whilst asleep the boy's body shivered slightly from laying on the cold tiled floor. Kristen asked Ben to
hurry and find a couple of warm blankets to warm Lucas. The lieutenant was reluctant to leave his sick
friend but was encouraged gently by Bridger and Kristen that he was in fact helping by doing this simple task.
Kristen had continued trying to rouse Lucas by rubbing lightly on his cheek. She felt the heat too and then
placed the palm of her hand on his forehead and grimaced aloud at the temperature that was present.
"Lucas can you hear me? Can you hear me Lucas?" Kristen asked in a soft but firm voice as he continued
with massaging the boy's limbs trying to improve the circulation.
Lucas made no such indication. His eyes remained closed. His breathing remained gaspy and shallow.
His body had just given out after too much abuse and now that he was asleep it seemed that he may not
wake up to their pleas at all.
"Lucas" Bridger said as he too tried to get the boy to stir from his deep sleep. "Lucas we need to you
wake up."
The boy still remained unresponsive. They didn't know if he was actually deeply asleep or indeed unconscious.
The result was the same. Nothing.
HOPE YOU ARE ALL ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEATS – YOU THOUGHT IT WAS ALL OVER –
TSK TSK – SHOULD KNOW ME BETTER BY NOW – REVENGE IS SUCH A ENTICING WORD
TO PLAY WITH – HEHEH - LOTS MORE TO COME.