Author's Note: Well, its moving on slowly but surely. Tell me what
you think of this chapter…I know it's a little cheesy, but I had thought
about this idea for a while and thought I might try it. Anyway if you all
still like it, I'll keep going (
Jim's train of thought was sluggish and fuzzy. He felt as if he'd been hit by a launch from the way his head hurt. He had become aware that he was awake not very long before, but the aching in his head had been a signal enough that he should take things nice and easy. He had a tendency to get himself into sticky situations, and he had been wounded before. Jim knew it was best to collect his thoughts and remember what happened before trying to get up. The fog in his mind cleared a little as he tried to remember where he was and what had happened. Slowly it came back to him. They had been on a rescue mission. He was tired. He hadn't had much sleep lately. There was shooting. He'd made sure Jonathan was ok…oh yes…the hut and Mariah. She had called them with a threat. Something about the bullet wound he had received. Oh yeah, I've been shot…great…. The last thing he remembered was getting really cold and finding it really hard to breathe. No, that was wrong. He remembered waking up sometime after that.
Pushing his mental functioning he strained to pick through the gap in his memory. He remembered feeling cold again and there was the sound of shouting. Jonathan had been shouting. He had managed to roll over but his lungs felt like they had been on fire. He'd pushed to open his eyes…Jonathan was there, so were Lonnie, Tim, and Miguel. No Tony, Jim noted. He had wanted to speak to them, ask them what was going on. Jonathan had mentioned Mariah… Jim remembered fairly clearly how angry he had been. They had surrendered because of him. We must be prisoners now. I have to get up.
Forcing his body to respond, Jim struggled to open his eyes. Very slowly the room came into focus. He was lying on his left side, facing off some sort of bunk. His combat and SEAL training kicked in and he scanned the room. There were bunks on the opposite wall and one wall seemed to be two way glass. Jonathan was on the other side of the room, next to some sort of door that obviously only opened from the other side. He seemed impatient. Miguel was asleep on one of the bunks and Lonnie and Tim were in one corner speaking quietly. Jim tried to shift his weight, causing a burning sensation in his right shoulder. Good job Jim, don't forget you've been shot. Jim opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He found it a little difficult to breathe, as if his lungs were covered in something. Refusing to give up, Jim tried to speak again, this time having a little more luck.
"Ford?" his voice was rough and scratchy and came out more of a whisper, but Lonnie heard him from where she was sitting.
"Jim!" She got up and hurried over to his side. Tim was right behind her and Jonathan hurried over from the door. "You're awake!" He nodded at her and did his best to smile.
"How do you feel?" Jonathan asked worriedly, touching Jim on the forehead, searching for a fever. Jim pulled away from his touch.
"What happened?" he asked hoarsely.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
"Jonathan…where's Tony?" Jim could almost hear himself pleading for explanations.
"All right, after you were shot…" Jonathan related to Jim everything that had happened since he had lost consciousness in the hut. Jim's mind was turning in a million different directions as Jonathan told him what Mariah had threatened about them being subjects and her particular interest in him.
"What do you think her game is?" Jim's asked, his voice sounding stronger than before. "Is it really about the money?"
"Good question Lieutenant Brody," the voice caused all of them to turn in the direction of the door. Mariah was standing in the doorway as if she had just entered. "However, like I told Commander Ford, this isn't my game. I'm not totally unlike you, just following orders," with this quiet comment, she strode further in the room and two of her guards came in after her, carrying an unconscious Tony. Jonathan jumped to his feet from Jim's side, clearly angry.
"What did you do to him?!" Jonathan demanded, taking a step towards Mariah. Tim reached up and grabbed Jonathan's shoulder to keep him from getting into a scuffle with Mariah.
"He's fine, our scientists just had to take a look at Mr. Piccolo. I assure you Commander that he was not harmed in the least. Set him down," she ordered her men. They carefully placed Tony on the floor. The seaman didn't stir, but he did seem all right. "Well Commander, this is it. I promised you no one has to die in this ordeal. Stay out of my way for the next twelve hours and everything is going to be fine."
"You had me tell Captain Bridger eight hours, and that was almost three hours ago!" Lonnie protested.
"That's why you're going to come with me to call your captain again Ensign Henderson. You'll be given further instructions at that time, but you'll all be relieved to know that one of you will be released in the next hour."
"You're releasing one of us to the seaQuest?" Jim spoke up this time, sounding suspicious at this new found kindness. His instincts screamed that this was some sort of trap.
"That's right. We'll be releasing Lieutenant O'Neil within the hour as a sign of good will to your Captain."
"So you're releasing someone because you're bargaining for more time and you think this will appease the Captain and keep his mind off of what you're really doing. You don't want the money…"
"You're very astute Lieutenant Brody, but I think you're Captain knows of the ploy, though I'm sure he'll go along with it," she nodded her head at the guards and they seized Tim and dragged him out. Jonathan's body tensed and glared at Mariah. Two more guards entered and Mariah closed the door. "See, I think it would only be fair to tell you all of what your future holds. I hold you as admirable opponents and you deserve to know, but the Lieutenant would only ruin the plans by telling your Captain and my superiors might not finish what they've started."
"Which is?" Jonathan's voice was more than skeptical.
"My employers were careful to bait the seaQuest for a reason. It was a stroke of luck that you were inclined to bring Seaman Piccolo with you. He's the reason you're here. You see, my employer is desperate to know if he can repeat the experiment that was performed on Piccolo…"
"You mean his gills," Lonnie's voice was soft and frightened. Jim shuddered involuntarily. So this was her game. She was working for mad scientists who wanted to make someone besides Tony a fish.
"Exactly. The Doctor I work for needed to see Piccolo to make sure he had everything right and assumed that in getting him here he would also be provided with a choice of able bodied subjects, all physically fit, strong, and healthy. So you see, one of you has been chosen to be the object of the experiment. If you don't die, you may even be released…though I doubt it. The rest of you will be re-released to the seaQuest when we've received the money. By then, the experiment will be done and whichever one of you gets to be the fish will be far away with my employers."
"What do you get out of this Mariah?" Jonathan's voice held a dangerous edge. Jim knew him well enough that he was about to explode and was only holding his rage in check by his good character and normally calm demeanor.
"Revenge…and hopefully…" she trailed off, looking uncertain for a moment. She did not continue and instead grinned at Jonathan. "Who cares? I get what I want."
"Well, who is it?" Miguel asked from the bunk where he had been sleeping. He sounded a little sleepy, but otherwise resigned to their fate.
"Well, obviously not Piccolo. What good would two sets of gills do him? And not the Commander…after all Captain Bridger would hunt me to the ends of the earth…"
"If you do this to any one of us, trust me, he'll kill you. I promise you that," Jonathan's voice was full of rage and anger. Jim noted that the two guards had drawn their weapons.
"I have no doubt…"
"Just tell us who!" Lonnie demanded.
"Not you…you're far to…well, female, for the taste of my employers,"
"And your taste?" Lonnie demanded again, stalking toward Mariah. "I know what your deal with them is. After they do their experiments and tests, you get to keep the 'subject' as a play toy, don't you?" Her voice was livid with anger and disgust.
"Something along those lines Ensign," Mariah's voice was cold. "You're wasting my time. Let's go!" she turned to her guards and gave them a curt nod. They trained their weapons on Jonathan, looking a little nervous. Mariah grabbed Lonnie by the arm and pulled her towards the door. The two guards moved past Jonathan and moved towards Jim.
Jim's eyes widened. "Me? What??" he struggled to sit up. Jonathan turned on the guards and Miguel leaped off his bunk. The two men attacked the guards as Jim got to his feet, feeling dizzy and woozy. In the confusion, Mariah shoved Lonnie out the door and two more guards entered, seizing the still dizzy Jim. Jim began to struggle, but one squeezed his injured shoulder and Jim felt a black haze creep over his senses. The two guards dragged him out and he could only glance back at Jonathan and Miguel, still oblivious to his fate, wrapped up in the brawl. The door swished close and the lock was like a resounding gong.
"Don't be afraid Jim," a soft voice said from behind him. He stopped struggling and turned to face Mariah. She seemed a little sad and reached out to touch his cheek. He didn't pull away from her, but kept his face impassive. "I'm just following orders…"
Jim's train of thought was sluggish and fuzzy. He felt as if he'd been hit by a launch from the way his head hurt. He had become aware that he was awake not very long before, but the aching in his head had been a signal enough that he should take things nice and easy. He had a tendency to get himself into sticky situations, and he had been wounded before. Jim knew it was best to collect his thoughts and remember what happened before trying to get up. The fog in his mind cleared a little as he tried to remember where he was and what had happened. Slowly it came back to him. They had been on a rescue mission. He was tired. He hadn't had much sleep lately. There was shooting. He'd made sure Jonathan was ok…oh yes…the hut and Mariah. She had called them with a threat. Something about the bullet wound he had received. Oh yeah, I've been shot…great…. The last thing he remembered was getting really cold and finding it really hard to breathe. No, that was wrong. He remembered waking up sometime after that.
Pushing his mental functioning he strained to pick through the gap in his memory. He remembered feeling cold again and there was the sound of shouting. Jonathan had been shouting. He had managed to roll over but his lungs felt like they had been on fire. He'd pushed to open his eyes…Jonathan was there, so were Lonnie, Tim, and Miguel. No Tony, Jim noted. He had wanted to speak to them, ask them what was going on. Jonathan had mentioned Mariah… Jim remembered fairly clearly how angry he had been. They had surrendered because of him. We must be prisoners now. I have to get up.
Forcing his body to respond, Jim struggled to open his eyes. Very slowly the room came into focus. He was lying on his left side, facing off some sort of bunk. His combat and SEAL training kicked in and he scanned the room. There were bunks on the opposite wall and one wall seemed to be two way glass. Jonathan was on the other side of the room, next to some sort of door that obviously only opened from the other side. He seemed impatient. Miguel was asleep on one of the bunks and Lonnie and Tim were in one corner speaking quietly. Jim tried to shift his weight, causing a burning sensation in his right shoulder. Good job Jim, don't forget you've been shot. Jim opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. He found it a little difficult to breathe, as if his lungs were covered in something. Refusing to give up, Jim tried to speak again, this time having a little more luck.
"Ford?" his voice was rough and scratchy and came out more of a whisper, but Lonnie heard him from where she was sitting.
"Jim!" She got up and hurried over to his side. Tim was right behind her and Jonathan hurried over from the door. "You're awake!" He nodded at her and did his best to smile.
"How do you feel?" Jonathan asked worriedly, touching Jim on the forehead, searching for a fever. Jim pulled away from his touch.
"What happened?" he asked hoarsely.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
"Jonathan…where's Tony?" Jim could almost hear himself pleading for explanations.
"All right, after you were shot…" Jonathan related to Jim everything that had happened since he had lost consciousness in the hut. Jim's mind was turning in a million different directions as Jonathan told him what Mariah had threatened about them being subjects and her particular interest in him.
"What do you think her game is?" Jim's asked, his voice sounding stronger than before. "Is it really about the money?"
"Good question Lieutenant Brody," the voice caused all of them to turn in the direction of the door. Mariah was standing in the doorway as if she had just entered. "However, like I told Commander Ford, this isn't my game. I'm not totally unlike you, just following orders," with this quiet comment, she strode further in the room and two of her guards came in after her, carrying an unconscious Tony. Jonathan jumped to his feet from Jim's side, clearly angry.
"What did you do to him?!" Jonathan demanded, taking a step towards Mariah. Tim reached up and grabbed Jonathan's shoulder to keep him from getting into a scuffle with Mariah.
"He's fine, our scientists just had to take a look at Mr. Piccolo. I assure you Commander that he was not harmed in the least. Set him down," she ordered her men. They carefully placed Tony on the floor. The seaman didn't stir, but he did seem all right. "Well Commander, this is it. I promised you no one has to die in this ordeal. Stay out of my way for the next twelve hours and everything is going to be fine."
"You had me tell Captain Bridger eight hours, and that was almost three hours ago!" Lonnie protested.
"That's why you're going to come with me to call your captain again Ensign Henderson. You'll be given further instructions at that time, but you'll all be relieved to know that one of you will be released in the next hour."
"You're releasing one of us to the seaQuest?" Jim spoke up this time, sounding suspicious at this new found kindness. His instincts screamed that this was some sort of trap.
"That's right. We'll be releasing Lieutenant O'Neil within the hour as a sign of good will to your Captain."
"So you're releasing someone because you're bargaining for more time and you think this will appease the Captain and keep his mind off of what you're really doing. You don't want the money…"
"You're very astute Lieutenant Brody, but I think you're Captain knows of the ploy, though I'm sure he'll go along with it," she nodded her head at the guards and they seized Tim and dragged him out. Jonathan's body tensed and glared at Mariah. Two more guards entered and Mariah closed the door. "See, I think it would only be fair to tell you all of what your future holds. I hold you as admirable opponents and you deserve to know, but the Lieutenant would only ruin the plans by telling your Captain and my superiors might not finish what they've started."
"Which is?" Jonathan's voice was more than skeptical.
"My employers were careful to bait the seaQuest for a reason. It was a stroke of luck that you were inclined to bring Seaman Piccolo with you. He's the reason you're here. You see, my employer is desperate to know if he can repeat the experiment that was performed on Piccolo…"
"You mean his gills," Lonnie's voice was soft and frightened. Jim shuddered involuntarily. So this was her game. She was working for mad scientists who wanted to make someone besides Tony a fish.
"Exactly. The Doctor I work for needed to see Piccolo to make sure he had everything right and assumed that in getting him here he would also be provided with a choice of able bodied subjects, all physically fit, strong, and healthy. So you see, one of you has been chosen to be the object of the experiment. If you don't die, you may even be released…though I doubt it. The rest of you will be re-released to the seaQuest when we've received the money. By then, the experiment will be done and whichever one of you gets to be the fish will be far away with my employers."
"What do you get out of this Mariah?" Jonathan's voice held a dangerous edge. Jim knew him well enough that he was about to explode and was only holding his rage in check by his good character and normally calm demeanor.
"Revenge…and hopefully…" she trailed off, looking uncertain for a moment. She did not continue and instead grinned at Jonathan. "Who cares? I get what I want."
"Well, who is it?" Miguel asked from the bunk where he had been sleeping. He sounded a little sleepy, but otherwise resigned to their fate.
"Well, obviously not Piccolo. What good would two sets of gills do him? And not the Commander…after all Captain Bridger would hunt me to the ends of the earth…"
"If you do this to any one of us, trust me, he'll kill you. I promise you that," Jonathan's voice was full of rage and anger. Jim noted that the two guards had drawn their weapons.
"I have no doubt…"
"Just tell us who!" Lonnie demanded.
"Not you…you're far to…well, female, for the taste of my employers,"
"And your taste?" Lonnie demanded again, stalking toward Mariah. "I know what your deal with them is. After they do their experiments and tests, you get to keep the 'subject' as a play toy, don't you?" Her voice was livid with anger and disgust.
"Something along those lines Ensign," Mariah's voice was cold. "You're wasting my time. Let's go!" she turned to her guards and gave them a curt nod. They trained their weapons on Jonathan, looking a little nervous. Mariah grabbed Lonnie by the arm and pulled her towards the door. The two guards moved past Jonathan and moved towards Jim.
Jim's eyes widened. "Me? What??" he struggled to sit up. Jonathan turned on the guards and Miguel leaped off his bunk. The two men attacked the guards as Jim got to his feet, feeling dizzy and woozy. In the confusion, Mariah shoved Lonnie out the door and two more guards entered, seizing the still dizzy Jim. Jim began to struggle, but one squeezed his injured shoulder and Jim felt a black haze creep over his senses. The two guards dragged him out and he could only glance back at Jonathan and Miguel, still oblivious to his fate, wrapped up in the brawl. The door swished close and the lock was like a resounding gong.
"Don't be afraid Jim," a soft voice said from behind him. He stopped struggling and turned to face Mariah. She seemed a little sad and reached out to touch his cheek. He didn't pull away from her, but kept his face impassive. "I'm just following orders…"