Disclaimers Apply
This story takes place in the IRI TEAM Universe





THE FIRST EPISODE IN THE IRI TEAM UNIVERSE;
Past, Present And Future




No. Not again.

Their hands and feet bang against the door to the shuttle. In their, soon to be dead, eyes one can see tears and they scream for help. In the last seconds of their lives they claw on the metal walls, unwilling to accept death.

Oh, my God. Will this never stop?

Just ordinary men and women. Loved by their family and friends.

The only thing they did was trying to serve their country, to protect their idea of what was right and wrong. They ended up being killed by people who were just like them. Just from another country with other ideas about right and wrong.



"Jonathan..."

"Katherine..."

The dark-haired woman looked at her old friend.

Commander Jonathan Ford had once been her superior officer and one of her best friends. They had developed something of a relationship but it hadn't lasted for very long. Unfortunately.

They had been perfect for each other. They had so much in common that it was almost scary. That was probably what had made their relationship impossible. As hard as she had found it to live with Benjamin Krieg, living with a copy of herself proved to be even harder. Thankfully they had realized it at the same time and when she left to take command of the HR Hilton he was already busy rebuilding the seaQuest.

But that was all in the past. Right now she had summoned him to her office to give him the opportunity of a life time. She was offering him the position as the Captain of one of the new IRI teams. She had talked to the president of the UEO the day before convincing him that Ford was the right man for the job. Not that it had been very hard; Ford was among the best and the UEO knew it.

"So..." Jonathan said, "why did you ask me to come here?"

Katherine Hitchcook felt great. Not only was she making the world a safer place by helping create the IRI teams, she was also helping her old friends from the seaQuest. For the first time in years it felt as if she was doing something that would really make a difference...

"Well, Jonathan, I have an offer for you that you just won't be able to turn down..."



Ford stepped out of the building three hours later. A small smile played on his lips as he opened one of the folders Admiral Hitchcook had given him. The eyes staring back at him from a small photo belonged to a certain Anthony Piccolo. He was serving on the Rose under the command of Captain Denton. Right now he was on shoreleave, though.

Ford sighed, he had a long night ahead of him searching through all the popular hangouts in town. But first he had another old friend to pay a visit to.



He only had to ring the bell once before O'Neill opened the door. The former communication officer was looking well, something that really pleased Ford. The last time he had seen him he had been looking very pale and tired.

Obviously civilian life suited the man.

"Commander Ford?"

"Long time no see, huh?"

"Yeah... sure... hmm... come in?"

Ford stepped into the apartment. He looked around a little as O'Neill went to the kitchen to get some coffee. The flat was small but he liked it. Beautiful paintings on the wall, lots of space and a huge bookshelf. He was just about to take a closer look on the book collection when Tim came back from the kitchen with two large cups of coffee in his hands.

"Nice place you got."

"Thank you. Uhm... has something happened? I mean... is everyone alright?"

Ford hurried to calm him down;

"No, no. It's nothing like that. Everyone's fine."

"Thank God. You got me really worried there. I mean... you know... with Lucas.... and you coming here. I thought perhaps something had happened."

"No. As far as I know Lucas is fine. Actually I'll be going to visit him tomorrow."

"He's still in the hospital, right?"

"Yes."

They sat there for a few moment saying nothing, just drinking their coffee. They were both trying hard not to think about the past.

Finally Tim broke the silence;

"Not to be rude but... how why are you here?"

"I talked to Kate... Admiral Hitchcook some days ago. She told me about a new UEO project. Seven International Rescue and Investigation teams. IRI for short."

"Let me guess... the UEO wants you to be the Captain of one of the teams."

"Yes. Hitchcook asked me this morning. I said yes."

"But you have a ship of your own now, right? The Queen. I always thought your dream was to be in command of a submarine."

"It was." Ford looked down at his feet. It had been his dream ever since he was a young cadet. But the Navy had changed the last ten years. Or maybe it was he who had changed. "I will be able to do what the seaQuest once did, Tim. Protect people. Protect the future."

Tim nodded. He understood. The war had taken away so much from them. There had been too much death. Life was now more valuable than ever. At least for most of them. There were always people those put little, or no, value at life.

"Congratulations, Commander. Or should that be Captain?"

"Thanks." He put down the coffee cup. "The reason for why I'm here is that I get to pick my own men. It would be great to have you on my team, Tim..."

"Uhm... I really appreciate the offer... I mean, I'm flattered, really. But as you know, I'm not in the army anymore... can't say I miss the routines and the orders very much. I'm sorry but..."

"I know. But you're good at what you do, O'Neill. I only want the best." He stood up. "Don't give me any answer now. Think about it."

Tim nodded. He was suddenly looking very tired. Ford felt a little ashamed.

"I have another appointment today so I'll have to go now. But I expect you to give me a call soon. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Ford was just about to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Tell Lucas I said hello, okay?"

"Sure."



"...so I told the man that-"

"Hello, Piccolo."

Tony turned around with a look of surprise on his face. As he recognized his old Commander he couldn't help but smile a little. Even though Ford was dressed in civilian clothes he still managed to look very military and, therefore, also very out of place.

"Never thought I'd bump into you in a place like this, Commander."

Ford looked at the small bar where he finally had been able to find Anthony Piccolo. Half-naked girls were dancing on the tables and the entire building was filled with smoke, loud music and drunk people.

"Trust me, Piccolo. You wouldn't."

"So what are you doing here...?"

Ford sat down beside his former crew-mate. Piccolo was a pain in the ass, cocky and most of the time totally hopeless. Yet he was a very loyal man with his heart in the right place. Most people, including himself on a bad day, wouldn't understand it but he wanted this man on his team.

"I'm here to offer you another job."

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard about the IRI teams?"

"Rescue and Investigation, huh? Yeah, I heard something about it couple of days ago. Don't tell me... they gave you a team of your own to command?"

"Yes, they did. I accepted. And as hard as it is to believe, I want you on my team."

Piccolo smiled.



"I'll call you in a week or two then. That will give you enough time to finish the paper work for the transfer. If your superiors give you any trouble tell them to get in touch with Admiral Hitchcook, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'm glad to have you on my team, Piccolo."

"Never thought I'd hear myself say this but it'll be good to be under your command again." The young man smiled. He realized that he had been doing that a lot lately. But life on the Rose wasn't good. People, among them Captain Denton, were giving him a hard time and even though he was used to hard there was nothing that said that he had to like it. "So, who else is gonna be on the team?"

"There's going to be five teams with four, five men in each. I've already spoken with Tim O'Neill."

"I thought he was out of the army for good?"

"That's pretty much the answer he gave me. But I have a feeling that he's gonna change his mind."

"So... me, you, Tim and who else?"

"I'll... be going to see Lucas tomorrow."

"Yeah?" Piccolo sat down again. "I haven't talked to him in... I don't know. Months? How is he?"

"Last time I spoke to him he was fine. Considering the circumstances."

"Is it okay with the UEO that he's in the team... I mean, you know... with what he did... and he'll never recover completely, right?"

"No, he wont. But Admiral Hitchcook herself told me that he would perfect for the team. And I agree with her. If he wants too, he has a place on my team."



"I'm here to see Wolenczak. Lucas Wolenczak."

"Room 34."

"Thank you..."

Ford hated hospitals, he really did. His mother had died in one at the age of 25. He had only been 3 years old but he could still remember it all very vividly. The white walls, the "hospital" smell...

Finally he came to room 34. He hesitated a moment before he knocked on the door. He hadn't seen his young friend for weeks now. He had made several phone calls to the hospital but somehow Lucas Wolenczak had always been asleep or too tired to take any calls. He now wished he had insisted but at the time he had been too busy to think much about it. He tried to shake off the bad thoughts and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

He opened the door. Lucas was laying on top of his bed, his face almost as white as the sheets and his eyes too large for his face.

"Hi, Lucas."

"Commander?"

Lucas made an attempt to sit up but Ford quickly gestured at him to stay in bed. The teenager looked really bad and even though he had expected something like what he saw before him, it still made him very worried. He sat down beside the bed and placed his hand on Lucas'.

"I was told you were getting better..."

"I am. Or so the doctors tell me."

"You don't look well to me."

"Yeah? So, Commander... what's up? How is everyone?"

"Fine, I think. I talked to Tim O'Neill yesterday. He seemed to be doing just great. Much better than..." Ford stopped, not wanting to upset Lucas. "He's been painting, I think. He had some really great paintings in his living room."

"Yes. He's very good."

"I'm not here to talk to you about the past, though. I wanted to talk to you about your future."

"What future?!"

"Lucas!"

"No! Don't you dare Lucas me!" Even though Lucas' voice was angry the pain in his eyes was so obvious that it hurt to watch. "What kind future do I have? After what happened? After what I did...?"

The last words came out as sobs. Ford grabbed Lucas hard and held him so close that he could feel the boy's ribs press against him. Lucas' body shook as he cried silently in the Commander's arms.



"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry 'bout that." Lucas brushed away the last tears with his hand. "It wont happen again, sir."

"It's okay, Lucas. I'm your friend." Ford took a closer look on the teenager. "Are you tired?"

"A little perhaps..."

"Then I wont bother you anymore today. Why don't you just rest now and I'll come back and talk to you in a couple of days?"

"No." Lucas sat up in his bed, using almost all the strength that was left in his body. "I don't feel like sleeping. Why don't you just tell me what you came here to say? About my future..."

He smiled, a smile that was almost as cocky as the ones Ford knew from the first tour with Lucas. He smiled back, sat down beside the bed again and told the young man about the IRI teams.