Chapter Seven

Scarlett couldn't breathe, the sight of this massive attacking submarine had made her feel faint, she could feel her legs beginning to buckle beneath her. Captain Bridger placed a hand flat against her back to steady her, she was grateful for it but she still continued to sway slightly. She reached out and grabbed onto the metal railings surrounding Miguel's station, trying to steady herself a little more. She looked again at the ship inching closer and closer to the SeaQuest, she felt sick. It was all her fault, this armed submarine was here for her, her crew, her equipment and maybe even her ship. She didn't look around when Lucas arrived on the bridge, demanding to know what was going on but she felt worse when Bridger explained it to him in official terms.

"Oh God," she murmured, fighting back her tears. "Where's Kyle? Was he out there when they cut the equipment off?" Nobody answered her; nobody knew how to inform her that there had been no word from her best friend and no sign of him anywhere. Their silence was deafening and she knew what it mean, she didn't want to believe it, she was losing everything that mattered to her and all she could do was stand there as it all fell down around her. Still feeling faint, she took a few deep breaths but it didn't help and as she began to fall she could hear Lucas call her name but she couldn't answer. There was nothing but blackness.

Scarlett woke alone in Lucas' bed; there was nobody else in the room and as she roused herself from unconsciousness she could see why. The red lights had been lit in Lucas' quarters as well as across the ship and there were soft shakes as the water around them vibrated with explosions. She sighed deeply and shaking back feelings of fear and doubt, she lifted herself out of bed and headed back out towards the bridge. There was no way that she was staying in bed during this; the SeaQuest was under attack because of her and her mission; she had to be there. She walked along the corridor, holding on to the walls and finding it hard to see in the dim red light but she knew she had to get to the bridge. She had to be among the people that she knew, people she trusted, she needed to know what was going on.

The doors onto the bridge opened and she stepped inside; the air was thick with tension and raised voices as the SeaQuest launched a full-scale counter offensive on their opponent. Nobody noticed her for a while, she sat down next to the small pool that was usually open for Darwin but was now shut tight. Lucas was sitting at a monitor working away furiously when he turned and caught sight of her, he couldn't shout out but he motioned to Bridger who turned and walked across the bridge to her. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet before escorting her to the spare seat next to Tim.

"Stay here," he said quietly. "Darwin found Kyle; the doctors are with him now but he's going to be fine, it was just a small electrical shock. You know you shouldn't be here,"

"I'm sorry, Sir," she sniffed, gaining her resolve as anger took over from her fear and upset. "I needed to be here, I needed to know what was going on," Bridger nodded and left her with Tim, returning to his position in the centre of the room, barking out his orders and reminding her of her father.

"Everything's going to be fine," smiled Tim, placing a comforting hand on her arm. She looked up at him and smiled, at least one of them was optimistic. After seeing how shaken the bridge crew were, she was  more convinced than ever that the mission of The Wilde and her crew was over and they would be lucky to get out of this nightmare alive.

The SeaQuest rocked again with the force of another blast, Scarlett felt as though she were drowning in the sea of a million voices all shouting out reports from their stations with Captain Bridger ring-leading them all. She didn't know how bad things were until Commander Ford reported that they were taking on water on one of the lower decks; they had sealed if off in time but it just made Scarlett feel as if they were more vulnerable now. She looked over at Lucas, he has his headset on and was clearly hard at work in the system computer, his brow was furrowed with exhaustion and concentration. Miguel looked tired but he laboured away at his console, ensuring that he didn't lose sight of the attacking sub. Tim was sending out messages; tapping away into the computer while speaking in a dozen different languages down his headset. Scarlett looked around, people were clearly afraid; there had never been an attack on the SeaQuest like this before, nobody had ever dared.

"Captain?" shouted Scarlett, Captain Bridger nodded to Commander Ford to take over and headed over to crouch down next to Scarlett, she didn't even wait to be asked. "I want Tim to send them a message; tell them that I'm willing to surrender all of our data and the equipment if they call off the attack. I can't be responsible for this, I just can't,"

"Scarlett, there is no way on this earth that I am giving up to Giles Huntleigh," said Bridger, his voice stern and severe. "And I will not let you give up on your mission either; I know how important it is to you. Lucas is working on targeting their engines; it'll all be over in no time,"

"That's what I'm afraid of," she said, choking back the tears that were threatening to push through at any moment. "Please Captain, I don't want put the crew in any more danger, I don't want to put my baby in danger,"

"You won't," he said gravely and stood up, rejoining Commander Ford. Tim looked in astonishment at Scarlett; he couldn't believe she had been willing to give up her work to save SeaQuest. Everyone was staring at the Captain, they had heard the conversation and while they were in disbelief that Scarlett had offered, they were even more disbelieving that the Captain had refused the offer. It was common knowledge that Captain Bridger held his belief in non-violent solutions in the highest regard, always seeking the peaceful way out but here he was; ignoring the peaceful path in favour of attack.

"Captain, I've modified the targeting computer," reported Lucas, still keeping an eye on Scarlett as she allowed her tears to fall silently. He wanted to go to her, to hold her close and tell her that it would be alright but he was needed, he was still a member of the crew now matter what was happening in his private life. "I think we may be able to target specific areas with the plasma torpedoes,"

"Thank you, Mr Wolenczak. Commander, aim for their aft-side engines, I just want to disable her," ordered Bridger, Commander Ford nodded and relayed the command to the weapons control. "Flood torpedo tubes three and four and fire,"

Everyone on the bridge held their breath and waited on Miguel Ortiz, he had his eyes glued to the screens in front of him, particularly the WSKRS monitor. Scarlett had wiped her eyes and turned to Tim; he had one hand to his ear pressing the headset closer. He was listening for the impact but it hadn't come yet, people were starting to murmur amongst themselves, the torpedo should have hit its target by now but there had been no report for Ortiz. Everyone across the ship was waiting with bated breath.

"There's a lot of movement out there," said Tim quietly. "I think they're searching,"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when a shockwave hit the SeaQuest, shaking her violently from side to side, Scarlett feared she would be flung from her seat but she clung to the sides. Everyone struggled to right themselves after the huge tremor but Captain Bridger rushed forward to Miguel's side.

"Report, Mr Ortiz," he demanded, there were a few seconds while Ortiz attempted to determine the extent of the damage. A smile spread across his face as he reported.

"She's been disabled, Sir. Direct hit to aft-side engines; she's dead in the water," Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief and rushed from Tim to Miguel's side, looking at the monitors and smiling broadly as she realised the threat was over.

"Mr O'Neil, send a message to them. Advise them we will be boarding, we will be armed and we are taking them into custody under the jurisdiction of the UEO," ordered Bridger. "Commander, select a team and get over there," Tim nodded and pressed his headset to his ear, sending the message out along the shortwave frequency. Commander Ford was already leaving the bridge being followed by a handful of officers; Bridger placed a hand on Scarlett's shoulder and with no thought for proper naval protocol, she turned around and threw her arms around him, holding him close in relief and thanks.

"Shouldn't you be hugging him?" he whispered into her ear, casting a glance over his shoulder at Lucas. Scarlett smiled and walked across the bridge to where Lucas had risen from his seat; she ran up the steps and collapsed into his arms. He held her so close he didn't think he would ever be able to let her go, he never imagined that things would get so tense, he never imagined that the life of their child would ever be in danger, he never realised until that moment how much he really loved her.

"I love you," she whispered into his neck, he smiled but didn't reply. He just held her closer; it was all the words he needed.

* Although this sounds like the end, it isn't. There's one more chapter to go!

* And thanks to everyone who's been reading so consistently – your reviews have been so kind so thank you all.  Diana x