FRIENDSHIP
"Captain we are just preparing the last phase of our docking with the depot" Commander Ford now informed Bridger.
All of the senior crew members were dressed in their uniforms and were standing by the launch bay doors ready
to arrive and start carrying off all the essential supplies.
Since the prank to Ben in the mess hall, Lucas and Shep had been nothing but professional about their whole role
in this operation. Lucas knew that everyone was counting on him to do his task and complete it on time, not forgetting
to do it well. They couldn't afford to mess up on this. It had to be done right the first time due to the time restriction
factors.
Shep and Lucas were all standing together, there was no one else standing close by at this point in time. Ben was
hidden behind one of the doorways but was smiling to himself as he saw the perfect opportunity for revenge right
there in front of him. He also knew that he needed to do the prank before they left the SeaQuest. Once aboard
the munitions depot he would have to be on his best behaviour until they returned to the boat and that was just too
long to wait to get even for Ben.
He had about fifteen minutes to do his stunt so whatever it was to be had to be quick. Ben hurried down to the
boat's gallery and grabbed a bucket of freezing cold water and then made his way back to his vantage point without
being seen. He had cursed silently to himself when in his haste some of the freezing water slopped over the edge of
the bucket and landed on the legs of his pants. The water was very cold. Once he got over the initial shock of how
cold the water was, he smiled devilishly to himself about what was about to happen.
Ben didn't think he should risk someone seeing him by looking again to see if the two teenagers were still standing
in the same place. What he didn't know was that Lucas had absentmindedly forgotten an important piece of their
equipment and ran back down one of the opposite corridors to grab it from his room.
With Shep standing on his own, Captain Bridger now took the opportunity while they were waiting to dock to talk
to Lucas's friend to see if everything was still on schedule for them.
"How's it going Shep?" Bridger asked casually as he came over.
"Oh great Captain Sir" Shep answered. "Lucas has planned all of this. I am just the anchor man. He really is the
brains behind the whole thing. I am just an extra pair of hands to help out."
Ben took a deep breath and then took one step out from his hiding place and threw the bucket of freezing cold
water in one smooth action. He heard the startled cries of shock from the cold water but something told him all
was not right.
He had heard Shep's voice amongst the cries but the other voice sounded a lot deeper than Lucas's. He could
scarcely keep his own scream of anguish in when he saw a very wet and shivering Captain Bridger standing beside
and equally cold and soaked Shep.
"Lieutenant Krieg" Bridger bellowed "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded to know.
Just as Bridger shouted the question, Lucas came back down the corridor from his quarters. One look at the angry
look on the Captain's face, the cold and dripping Shep and the empty bucket in Krieg's hand told him what had
transpired whilst he was gone. He couldn't help but laugh at Krieg's misfortune. Ben had gotten Shep good,
Lucas was just glad that fate had a hand in his absence that saw him still standing there dry.
Most of the crew in the launch bay had howled with laughter at Krieg's prank, including Commander Ford and
Commander Katie Hitchcock. One warning look from the Captain though and the laughter quickly died away and
warm towels were placed around the Captain's shoulders and then Shep.
"Man that is so not fair. I missed you completely" Ben said to Lucas.
"Like I said Ben, you got to be pretty good to catch the Lucasman" the teenager said laughing again. He went
over to check that the Captain and Shep were alright. Both of them were cold to say the least.
"You must have nine lives Lucas" Shep said in a dejected tone, a little disappointed that he had been caught
so easily but not the person rightfully deserving of the drenching.
"Let's go and get changed quickly before the docking is complete" Captain Bridger now suggested about himself
and Shep. Within a short period of time, both of them returned to the launch bay dressed in dry clothing but
still dampened hair.
Ben kept looking at the Captain a little worried about what be his punishment. Bridger had to smile to himself as
he noticed the nervousness on the Lieutenant's face. "Don't worry Lieutenant, I will come up with something
that fits the crime." he finally said.
Ben was even more worried now but all of them had to put on a much more professional appearance as the seal
between the SeaQuest and the munitions depot was opened.
"This is it people, I want you all on your best behaviour from here on in" Bridger now announced, making sure he
had the attention of three of his crew in particular. Lucas, Shep and Ben agreed to put all of their mischief aside
until after the job was completed.
*************************************************************************************
"Welcome Captain Bridger. There is only a very small staff of people left, but we aim to help your team out
wherever we can and make this removal as smooth as possible" a tall lanky man said as he greeted the SeaQuest
crew.
"Thank you, Mr………." Bridger said waiting for the man to tell them his name.
"Oh, I am sorry, Mr Biggs" the man then said apologetically. "If you and your team will follow me please, we can
attend to unloading your supplies shortly. I will direct you and your crew to their quarters for the next week and
give you a quick tour of the areas you will have access to before you begin the operation."
"I will have everyone assemble in the mess hall after our tour and you can tell us how to go about this operation
and assign the various teams. I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful at this stage. The person that was supposed
to greet you when you arrived has been delayed until later on. He is the director of the depot and has intricate
knowledge about what equipment has to go and what is to stay. He has had many meetings with your Admiral
Noyce about this move." Biggs explained.
"That will be fine Mr Biggs" Captain Bridger said, feeling a little sorry for the man. He obviously had been thrown
in the deep end and didn't know about half that was to occur.
Bridger and his crew laden down with their sparse luggage now followed the stand-in tour guide onto the elevator.
The munitions depot had many levels to it, some of it they would have access to, other parts not. Most of the more
dangerous levels were down below where the waste material was stored and sealed off from the threat of a leak.
The crew and Mr Biggs weren't the only ones to board the lift though. A few other depot personnel including
one young girl waited patiently until the lift reached the level she wanted. Lucas had been standing at the back
of the elevator next to Shep and Bridger. When the young girl entered the lift, Lucas couldn't hide the reddening
of his face as he gazed upon her petite frame and very pretty face.
Bridger looked over at Ben who had also noticed the expression and colour of Lucas's face. At least the teenager
wasn't fighting his raging hormones Ben said to himself. There was many a time that the Lieutenant thought the
kid was too hidden away from such things as girls and relaxation. Being aboard a submarine for many weeks at a
time didn't help his social skills either.
Ben wanted to say something to his friend and taunt him a little but was worried that his voice would carry in such
a confined space and the young lady might find out about the interest coming from behind her.
The lift continued to ascend for two more levels, and then it stopped. The young lady seemed to be getting off
at the same level as the SeaQuest crew. Most of the crew and people in front had gotten off in front of Lucas.
The girl had been caught up in the rush to get off and had dropped some of the files that she had been carrying
in her hands.
Lucas now stopped and bent down and started to help the girl pick up the paper that was strewn about the floor
of the elevator. At first his gaze was focused on the papers, but when he looked up he saw a pair of emerald
green eyes staring back at him. He swallowed nervously before managing to open his mouth…….."Hi" he
said in a quiet voice.
"Hi" the girl replied, gazing a the boy in front of her. She could scarcely believe that somebody had bothered to
stop and help her. Most of the people on the lift had just walked past. She couldn't remember seeing anyone
with such expressive blue eyes before. She began wondering what his name was.
Bridger, Ben and Shep had gotten off with rest of the crew, but then quickly noted the teenager's absence as
they began walking down a long corridor. The three of them backtracked a few metres to the lift and saw
Lucas kneeling on the floor gazing at the girl that had been in the lift with them.
Lucas seemed to be staring at her and she seemed to be staring at Lucas.
"Thank you for helping" the girl said. "My name is Ariel" she then added, hoping the boy would tell her his name.
"Your welcome, my name is Lucas" the star struck teenager said. His brain was ticking over the whole time
thinking about how nicely the name suited her.
Shep and Ben couldn't help but poke fun at their friend and pretended to play a couple of invisible violins as they
watched young love happening right before their eyes. Bridger gave them a mock stern look but could help but
chuckle himself as he looked at the two nervous teenagers. They were both as nervous as each other.
"What are you doing here?" Ariel now asked Lucas.
"I am part of the SeaQuest crew helping move everybody off the depot" Lucas replied. "If you need any help
with your stuff, I would be happy to help out." he said with hopefulness.
"Uh huh" Ben said in an over-exaggerated, knowing that Lucas was hoping for more than helping the girl
move out.
"Oh that would be extremely helpful. Maybe we can meet for dinner in the cafeteria later on and talk about it"
the girl now said, wanting to find out all she could about this new handsome young stranger.
"See you later than" Lucas now said as he knew the crew would be waiting for him. He never expected to
meet someone so enchanting when he woke up this morning. He too wanted to know more about her.
"See you" Ariel said and smiled at him coyly before turning in the opposite direction and walking down the
other end of the corridor. For a few seconds, Lucas was content enough just to watch the girl walk away
from behind. He had a big grin of satisfaction plastered all over his face for all to see.
"See you round my love" Ben now said over Lucas's shoulder in a imitation girl's voice as he wasted no time
in teasing Lucas about his new friend. Lucas turned around ready to give a mouth full to Ben but when he
turned and saw the him laughing with Shep and Bridger, he too joined in the laughter. He was a little embarrassed
as to how things had happened right in front of his friends. When it came to matters of the heart, Lucas was
normally a very private person.
"Gee Lucas, you even beat your all time personal record that time" Shep now informed his teenage friend.
"You haven't moved that quick on a girl since college."
"Come on you guys, the rest of the crew has gone on ahead of us, we have to catch up" Bridger now said,
hoping that would end Lucas's embarrassment.
Lucas now fell in beside Bridger as he walked down the corridor towards the rest of the crew. Ben and Shep
walked behind, still smiling at their friend's chance encounter with a girl. They couldn't remember when Lucas
had fallen over a girl so hard before.
"She's very pretty don't you think Captain?" Lucas now asked as his mind wandered off to think about Ariel.
"Come on Romeo" Bridger now said to the youth as he urged the boy to keep his mind on the job at hand.
With a love sick puppy on their hands, Bridger was beginning to wonder just how much of the computer storage
was going to be completed in the time they were there.
"Where did you all go?" Commander Ford asked as Bridger and the rest of the stragglers came into their temporary
quarters.
"Our young friend here found himself a girlfriend" Bridger now said as he pointed towards Lucas.
"Already? But we haven't even been here more than five minutes?" Ford now said in surprise. Lucas finding
himself a companion was the last thing they thought would happen on this mission. "How serious can it really
be?" he now added, thinking that they were only going to be there a week or so anyway and there wouldn't
be much time for romance.
"Oh don't worry Commander, they are well past the first date. I say by this time tomorrow they will be asking
to get married. They haven't stopped making doe eyes at each other since they met." Ben now said in fun.
Shep joined in the laughter with everybody else. When they all looked over at the very person they were talking
about, Lucas's attention seemed to be everywhere else but in the room he was standing.
Mr Biggs had been listening to the chatter going back and forth about who Lucas had met but he really needed
to get things underway. "Um excuse me, these are your living quarters for the time you will be here. If you
stow your gear, I will take you all for a tour of the rest of the depot and then to the mess hall for a bite to eat.
Once we finish the meal, I will gather all those involved and you can explain the rosters and which teams everybody
will break up into."
"Your right Mr Biggs, come on everybody let's go" Bridger now said, making sure that Lucas understood what was
going on. By now Lucas seemed to at least be back on planet earth. He looked as though he was ready to pay
attention to what was going on for a little while anyway.
"These corridors run through the entire depot. There are sign posts in various locations to tell which way to go but
basically if you follow them, you can't get lost. You might get a long way from where you want to be, but if you
just keep following them all the way around, eventually you will end up where you want to be." Biggs explained as
they all walked in one group through the complex.
Biggs showed them through a virtual maze of rooms that were mostly sleeping quarters for personnel. Now they
were coming up to the area that Lucas and Shep would be mostly interested in, the laboratories.
As soon as they walked in, Lucas and Shep groaned a little at what work load lay before them. Inside the rooms,
there were innumerable desks and work stations, all of them fitted out with a computer that would need to be
backed up and wiped once they were finished. They were literally talking about a whole day of work just in this
one laboratory, no doubt there were a lot more in other places. Lucas really did start to think that the job wasn't
going to be finished on time.
Lucas applied himself to the task though and started to jot down notes as they walked in a small note pad. He also
made some crude maps of the laboratories and corridors for later reference. Nobody would be able to understand
his smallish scrawl, but at least he shouldn't get too lost on his own.
The crew were now taken towards what used to be the galley area of the depot. The mess hall that Biggs had
spoken about for a meal later on was in a different part and was only a temporary set up while the last of the
dismantle of the depot took place. All of the stoves had been switched off and most of the cooking utensils
and appliances had been packed up in boxes, ready to be taken away.
"These refrigerators and freezers are only being used for storing most of the perishable food at the moment. They
will be switched off on the last day or so. If you are too far from the mess hall and feel like something to eat, please
feel free to help yourselves. You will probably only manage to make a sandwich or something, but at least you
won't have to walk all the way back to the mess hall." Biggs now said.
Lucas and Shep liked this idea, particularly because they were so close to the laboratories where the boys would
be spending most of their days. It would be a lot easier for them if they could just grab something and eat while
they still worked. Looking at the amount of work in front of them, they weren't sure they had the time to stop
for meal breaks anyway.
Soon the tour of the areas the crew had access to was finished and the crew sat down in the mess hall ready for
that meal. Whilst on the tour, Bridger and Commander Ford voiced their concerns about some of the areas
being restricted access, as did Lucas because of the computer equipment that was likely to be housed in some of
those areas. Mr Biggs promised to talk to the man in charge of the depot upon his return about getting them
access.
Most of the crew had gotten their meal trays and were sitting at one of the large tables in the mess hall. They
had been idly talking amongst themselves about what was to happen once they started packing up. Lucas was
still in the queue waiting to get his meal.
"Uh-oh, our star-crossed lovers have just met up again" Shep now said as he watched his friend standing in line.
Ariel had just come up behind Lucas with her own tray.
Lucas felt a soft tap on his right shoulder, he turned and couldn't help but smile at the person responsible. "Hi"
he greeted her.
"Hi Lucas" Ariel said in a shy voice. "Nice to see you again." she added, blushing slightly. She hadn't expected
to run into the handsome teenager so soon again after their chance encounter.
"Nice to see you too Ariel" Lucas replied. He was sure that he would never forget that name as long as he lived.
With Lucas and Ariel both holding their meal trays and heading back towards the crew, Bridger and the others
motioned for the young teenagers to join them at the table. Lucas looked to his side though and spied a smaller,
but totally empty table and invited Ariel to sit with him alone at that one. Ariel readily agreed and the two of them
sat down. Lucas sat so that he could still see the crew across the room.
"How does he do it?" Ben asked in honesty. "He hasn't known the girl but a few minutes and already she's eating
right out of his hand."
"Oh you mean like you Ben" Katie Hitchcock now said, "Lucas probably hasn't stooped to your level yet Ben.
He hasn't tried to tell her over-exaggerated tales of his achievements or promise her things that she will never see.
He hasn't used that Krieg kind of charm that makes a girl what to puke right there and then." she said.
"Katie, I am hurt" Ben now said with a feigned shocked and appalled expression on his face. "You fell for all of
those things remember once upon a time." he said as he reminded her of their marriage.
"Yes, but that was before I had the operation to replace my brain. I still swear to this day that it wasn't me you
married Ben, but that's not what the marriage certificate says." Katie now joked. Everybody else at the table
was a little uneasy about the conversation between ex husband and wife. Kate and Ben weren't however, they
had made the decision to remain friends a long time ago. Neither of them could deny that they still had feelings
to one another, they just weren't the kind of feelings that made a marriage last forever.
The crew now looked up to see Lucas and his new lady friend getting up from the table. Ariel gave Lucas a quick
kiss on the cheek and an even quicker hug before she quickly hurried out of the room, trying to hide her tear-stained
face.
Lucas left his tray on the other table, not feeling very hungry but now went back over to the other table where his
friends were sitting.
"What's wrong Lucas?" Bridger now asked worried about the sullen look on the young man's face.
"She dump you pal?" Ben said and then regretted his inappropriate jab as Lucas looked at him with a hurtful
expression. Katie quickly chastised her ex-husband with a kick to his shin bone. Almost everybody else at the
table gave Krieg a displeasing look as well as they looked upon the teenager's sad face.
"She's leaving later on tonight." he finally said and now everybody knew the reason for his depressed mood.
"We exchanged phone numbers and said we would stay in contact, but I doubt we'll see each other again."
"I am sorry to hear that Lucas" Bridger said as he tried to find the right words to say. "I'm sure she will keep
in contact with you. She looked as though she really liked you." he added, trying to perk up the teenager's
feelings.
"I think I really liked her too Captain" Lucas then added. It was so very rare that Lucas aired his feelings
to everybody on the topic of romance and relationships.
"Come on chum, we got lots to do" Shep now said, not knowing how else to cheer his friend up other than
the suggestion of work to keep his mind off things.
Lucas rose from the table and then attempted to put his mind to the task at hand. "Captain if you don't mind,
Shep and I will get started on the computer systems. We don't need anybody else assigned to help us at
your meeting."
"Sure go ahead Lucas, we can meet back here at say 6.00pm for dinner?" he now suggested, not wanting the
boy to work for hours and hours without food. He didn't know much about Shep's eating regime but he knew
Lucas's all too well when he got involved with the computers. The kid rarely stopped for anything including
sleep and food. Bridger would make sure that he still looked after himself on this mission. The schedule could
get shot to hell for all he cared, so long as Lucas didn't work himself to death to try and keep up with it.
************************************************************************************
While the rest of the crew went to the meeting of the other personnel on the depot and worked out teams to move
the equipment, Lucas and Shep got their necessary equipment and headed to the first set of labs they needed to
work on.
"If you start on all the other smaller computers Shep, I will concentrate on the mainframe because it's probably going
to take the majority of the time. Yell out if you need a hand." Lucas now said to his friend.
Before Shep got too involved in the computer work, he set up a portable stereo and put in a music disk to keep
them entertained. Soon the pair of them were steadily working with the music blaring away in the background.
Although strange to some, Lucas and Shep had used such methods all the time when they were studying back in
college.
About two hours later, Shep seemed to be moving steadily from computer to computer, storing the recorded data
as needed and checking to see if it was still retrievable afterwards.
Lucas however, was sitting frowning at the large screen in front of him. He had thought things were going just as
smoothly as Shep for the first hour or so, but now he wasn't so sure. There was something with the data as his
eyes scanned it that just didn't make sense. He had spent the last hour or so trying to make heads or tails of it.
"Shep come and look at this" Lucas now said wanting a second opinion on the puzzle. Shep turned down the
music so the friends could hear each other.
"What's up Lucas?" Shep now said not picking up that anything was wrong.
"Take a look at this." Lucas now said and pointed to the screen. Shep looked at it for quite a few minutes, not
really grasping his friend's idea of what was wrong.
"So?" was all Shep could think to say. "What are you driving at?"
"Take another look and then look at this screen," Lucas now instructed as he patiently waited to see if what he
saw dawned on his friend.
Shep did what Lucas said, looked at the first screen and then looked at the second one like Lucas said, his mind
was totally blank for a few seconds more until the penny finally dropped.
"But what would make that happen?" he now said. He could see the problem that Lucas was talking about. It
was taken him some considerable more time to pick up on it. If Lucas hadn't been so vigilant, they may not
have picked it up at all and then all of their work would go out the window. Shep wasn't entirely positive that
the work they had already done wasn't headed in that direction already.
"I don't know," Lucas admitted as he ran a hand through his unruly blond hair. "I have been staring at it for the
last hour trying to figure out what it means."
"Let's go and get something to eat. Maybe that will help us figure it out." Shep now suggested. He could see
the tired look on his friend's face. He too like Bridger wasn't about to watch his friend work himself to death.
"Okay."
When Shep and Lucas walked into the mess hall, the rest of the SeaQuest crew were already half way through
their meal. Bridger didn't complain however, he was just pleased to see that Lucas or at least Shep had taken
note of his advice about keeping to meal times.
"How goes it Lucas and Shep" Ben greeted the two teenagers.
"Slow Ben, very slow" Lucas said in an almost annoyed voice. He wasn't annoyed at Ben, more at himself for
not being able to work out the problem. He had been put in charge of the project and even at this early stage
of things it seemed as though he just wouldn't be able to cut it. That didn't sit too well with the teenager even
if everybody else was happy enough to settle for something lesser from him.
Shep got both meal trays for him and Lucas. His friend remained at the table, lost deep in thought as he tried
to work out the problem.
"Problems?" Bridger asked casually, noting the strained expression on Lucas's face. He could see the battle
raging within the teenager.
"You could say that" Lucas said matter-of-factly and then concentrated on putting food in his mouth so he didn't
need to elaborate any further.
Lucas and Shep now looked at each other, both knowing that they were searching for a reason and an answer
to their problem.
"Did you………." Shep started to ask.
"Yep" was Lucas reply before the sentence was even finished.
"How about the other…….." he then asked again.
"Yep did that too" Lucas now said.
The crew just sat in stunned silence at the two friends. It seemed that they were just so in tune with each other when
it came to computers that both knew what the other was thinking almost without the need for saying it.
"It's like watching a foreign film." Ben now said, trying to
inject a little humour into what they were looking at.
"You can see the actors but you can't understand a word they are saying."
The crew nodded their heads in agreement. Even Bridger was surprised at the level of intuition between the two
friends. They were really in touch with each other on every level, emotionally, physically and now even intellectually
it seemed.
The conversation and thought process was interrupted by the appearance of Mr Biggs from earlier in the day.
"Good evening everybody. I trust you have found yourselves getting around okay and gotten enough to eat."
he now said. At one point he glanced briefly towards Lucas but then quickly turned his attention back to the
Captain and the rest of the crew again when he saw the teenager lost deep in thought.
"If you and your crew are finished with their meal Captain, I will introduce you to the head of the Depot. Seems
he has come back a little earlier and is ready to receive your party as he arrives from the shuttle." Biggs now
explained. "If you will all follow me please."
As the crew followed the man down the corridor towards the shuttle launch bay area, Lucas was still thinking
about the computer problem. He found at the end of the day as much as he wanted to avoid it, there was only
one plausible reason for what he saw: sabotage. And if it was just that he had to try and find out who would
want to do something like that and why.
The thought quickly dried up in his mind though as he could see the man Biggs was talking about approaching the
crew from the other end of the corridor. At first he was too far away and just though that his mind must have
been playing tricks on him, but when he saw Shep pausing in his step and taking a good look too, he knew that
his friend had the same sense of foreboding that he did.
"No way………" Shep now managed to get out as the shock started to set in. He recognized the man coming
towards them alright. "No fucking way…………." he said.
The crew had stopped short when they heard the swear word coming from Shep. They had a disapproving
look for the teenager until his face and that of Lucas.
"Tell me it's not Shep………" Lucas said in a quiet voice as his mind tried to comprehend the person walking
towards him. All of the memories he had tried so hard to drive down and forget about were beginning to
resurface again.
"I can see him Lucas, but I don't fucking believe it" Shep now commented, a little concerned at the paleness
of Lucas's face.
Bridger was trying real hard to ignore the swearing that was going on and concentrate on what was the cause
of the foul language. He too looked towards Lucas and noted the tautness of the skin on Lucas's face and
the grim expression. The look was somewhere between crying out of frustration and screaming out in anger.
The man that Biggs had been talking about was now close enough to see the two teenagers. He too had a
surprised look on his face for a few minutes until he hid his emotions behind a stone mask.
"Well well looks like the U.E.O. has taken to hiring juvenile delinquents and college mis-fits these days" the
man said with sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"You bastard" Shep found himself yelling at the stranger, he could scarcely contain his emotions. They were
gathering within him and threatening to explode like a volcano any minute.
Commander Ford now got a grip on the back of Shep's shirt to prevent something ugly happening. He didn't
know how Lucas and his friend come to know the stranger, it was just as obvious that he seemed to know them
too.
"Let me go, you don't understand. What that bastard did to Lucas" Shep now shouted in rage and demanded
that he be released.
At the end of that statement all eyes came upon Lucas who was standing as though transfixed to the one spot.
He hadn't taken his eyes off the stranger, his face had gained some colour though Bridger noted with worry
as he saw the teenager's face turn just as red in anger as that of his friend.
"Mr Wolenczak tell me how's your father……….." the stranger tormented with a sparkle of evil in his eyes.
That was the final straw, Lucas couldn't hide his emotions any more and the hatred or contempt that he felt
for this man.
He started to turn around and go in the opposite direction, not answering the man's jibe at him. Before he made
it entirely past the SeaQuest crew, he paused at Bridger and uttered some ominous words………….
"If you tell me you knew about him being here I will never talk to you again…………………." he shouted almost
on the verge of tears and then ran down the corridor away from them all as fast as he could.
Bridger couldn't do anything but stand there with a shocked expression on his face. He had never been on the
receiving end of such harsh words before from the teenager. If he had of heard those same words without the
anger in them he would have thought Lucas was joking, but with the look upon Lucas's face and that of Shep
he could do nothing but believe them. He didn't know what Lucas meant though, he had never seen this person
before in his life. He didn't even know his name yet.
"I got to go and find Lucas" Shep now said as he ripped free of Ford's grip and ran after his friend.
"Um gentleman, Captain, this is Dr Henry Woodstock, head of this depot" Mr Biggs now introduced. At first
the name didn't sink in to the crew. It took a few more seconds before they realised what name he had
said.
"Captain, I have no time to talk to you or your people right now. I will summon you when I am ready to talk to
you" Woodstock now said and then left with Mr Biggs before Bridger had a chance to respond.
It was Bridger's turn to have an angry look on his face. It was almost as if the man had dismissed him like a
small child. "We had better go and find Lucas" he then said as his expression changed to one of concern and
worry only for one person.
"Why do I get the feeling that something's going on here that we don't know about?" Ben whispered in Ford's
ear. Ford was forced to agree and nod his head in answer. He too felt like the entire crew had just been
given the brush off and he didn't like how this whole mission was panning out.
The crew followed the Captain back to their temporary quarters. By the time they got there though the only
noise they could hear coming from the room was that of Lucas's shouting. It sounded like he was talking to
the video-link.
"I said get him now jerk" Lucas demanded and slammed his fist down angrily on the console with the video-link
controls. The young cadet on the other end swallowed hard as he came face to face with the angry face of the
teenager, he quickly did what Lucas asked.
Bridger was about to stop Lucas's outburst and ask what was going on. Before he could ask though, Bill
Noyce appeared on the video-link screen. At first he was a little surprised at someone being put through to his
room without being consulted first, but one look at the angry face of the young teenager in front of him and he
put everything else aside.
"How long have you known he was here?" Lucas demanded, his voice too calm and low for Bridger's liking.
"How long have I known about who Lucas?" Bill asked, pretending not to know what Lucas was talking about.
Unfortunately he had a pretty good idea.
"Don't play games with me Admiral, you oversaw everybody on this mission. You knew he was going to be
here. You knew all along that he knew me and Shep. How could you? I thought you were supposed to be
my friend?" Lucas now accused.
"I take it your talking about Mr Woodstock being there. Lucas I didn't know about you and he knowing each
other" Noyce lied.
"Cut the bullshit Admiral" Lucas now yelled back "I am not a three year old. You knew he was here alright,
just like you knew about what he has done in the past."
"Lucas I………………" Noyce now started in an apologetic tone of voice.
"Save it Admiral, let me just say that I will never trust you again" and he then went into his own private bedroom,
slamming the door loudly behind him so that everybody heard.
Bridger ran his hands through his hair for a few seconds. He thought Lucas had been mad at him. Boy, it paled
in comparison to how angry Lucas had been at the Admiral. He still didn't know what was going on entirely.
"Boy was he mad" Ben now said for everybody else in the room. Bill Noyce was still on the video-link screen
and was part of the conversation. The crew could scarcely believe the ferocity of Lucas's words or the swearing
that the teenager had said to his Commanding Officer.
"You really should not have done that Sir" Shep now said in a sad voice. "After all Lucas has been through, I
thought his friends at least would have been there for him."
"Do what Shep?" Bridger now said as the frustration began to creep in his voice. He felt as though the whole
conversation was going completely around him and missing him out. He wanted to know what was going on.
"Is this Mr Woodstock the same one from your college?" Ben now asked, recognizing the name from the night
they had talked about Lucas's past.
"Yes, but there something more that you don't know about." Shep now said knowing he was going to have to
explain to them all. He loathed to betray Lucas's trust, but he genuinely thought he was doing the right thing.
"You heard Woodstock say something about Lucas's dad?" he asked and saw everybody nod their head. They
all had heard it but didn't really understand what significance it was to Lucas.
"Well, when all of the abuse was going on between Lucas and his father, Lucas got to the stage where he desperately
sought help from someone to make the beatings and the pain stop. He didn't know where to turn. I didn't have any
family to help him so he turned to a teacher at the school…………." he said, leaving the sentence unfinished but
assuming that the crew would pick up who the teacher was.
"You mean he just ignored what was happening to Lucas and didn't do anything about it? Ben now asked, finding
his own anger rising at what he was hearing had happened to Lucas. They had heard all to often what had happened
in this boy's dark past, but each time it was explained again, they could scarcely comprehend that he had been able
to go through it all virtually alone.
"Worse than that Ben" Shep said in sadness as he remembered his friend breaking down and telling him that fateful
day what Woodstock had said when Lucas tried to confide in him. "Woodstock told him that Lucas was carrying
on like a spoiled child and was probably doing something to anger his father. In not so many words he said that
Lucas deserved the beatings that he was getting."
Admiral Noyce could barely keep it together as he heard what Woodstock had done and said to Lucas. Noyce
had never intentionally set it up so that Lucas would be hurt all over again. He knew that the teacher was from
the teenager's past, but didn't have the slightest idea that he had been responsible for such remarks.
Bridger like most of the crew couldn't believe what torment that boy was forced to endure. It seemed as though
Shep knew a lot more about Lucas's past than they all dreamed of. Bridger now walked up to Lucas's closed
door and knocked gently, asking the troubled teenager to let him in.
"Lucas………….." he said a little louder a second time. There was no response. The only sound that was coming
from the other side of the room was silence.
TO BE CONTINUED…………………
Hi, sorry it took so long to update. Hope you like this part. The whole sabotage idea will be explained yet I
promise. And with the romance bit, well you can see how bad I was at it so I didn't try and continue much longer
with it, sorry but I really don't have the talent for writing love scenes or romance ……..just the elfy stuff………..
JULES