Almost to the end. This chapter is directly based off a script that was never filmed (too bad, it was really good!), and the episode, of course, never aired. So in this instance it is only proper for me to state:
seaQuest DSV and seaQuest 2032 is owned by Amblin Television and Universal Television, and quite possibly by the Sci Fi Channel. I do not own any of the characters with the exception of Mara Johansen, whom I created when I promoted O'Niell. The characters Yamamoto and TJ Dasher were kindly also lent to me by two people from a role-playing based on seaQuest and appear with their express permission as well.
The episode "In Father's Footsteps" was written by Naren Shankar and was copyrighted in 1995 by Amblin Television and Universal Television. Who owns it now is beyond my knowledge. (It certainly is not me, although I wish I did. I would have made some changes...)
No profit was made by the novelization of this episode, actually, no money at all was made or changed hands in the making or subsequent posting of it.
CHAPTER TWELVE:
In Father's Footsteps
May 27th, 2034
Orpheus Base
UEO Deep Power Project
Location Classified
Ensign Lucas Bridger was not sure to make of everything he saw. He could hardly believe his orders. He watched as the others packed up equipment that could not be replaced given the highly specialized nature. The rest would be left behind, and much of it was. In the flurry of activity, Dagwood picked up a box and stared at it for a moment. He then looked at Lucas, and then at the box. Looking up at Lucas he said, "Wolenczak Industries. Hey, Lucas, this somehow connected to you?"
"Yeah... you could say that," he answered, his tone subdued.
In fact, everyone had noticed just how subdued he was during the entire trip. A dark-haired woman in a UEO uniform walked over to them. If anyone was more subdued than Lucas, Dr. Sheila Cavanaugh was that person. She turned to Lucas and said, "Your father said he was going to make me famous... and in a way, I guess he did. But not the way I expected."
Dagwood's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Even Lucas was surprised to hear the amount of bitterness in her tone. Lucas gave her a half glare, and shoved some equipment into a bag. Half ignoring her he turned to Dagwood, "I think they could use a hand with the storage compartments."
Dagwood nodded, and picking up on Lucass glare at Cavanaugh, gave her one of his own before going over to help with said compartments. Lucas tried his best to hide his dislike, but he knew she could pick up on it. He wasn't hiding it very well. Finally giving up the effort to simply ignore her, he said, "Doctor Cavanaugh, according to what I've read, my father was the one who brought you onto the Orpheus Project in the first place. Regardless of how it turned out, I'd think you'd at least be grateful for the opportunity."
"I was... right up to that moment three years ago when your father took the ship we built and disappeared with it a kilometer below the ocean floor," she took a breath before continuing. "What do you think? Was it just an impulse... or did he want to keep the glory of tapping magma-power all for himself?"
Lucas turned back to her, surprising even himself at the depth of his defense, "My father was only trying to help people. Whatever he did... I'm sure he had his reasons."
Cavanaugh noticed the slight hesitance, and her eyes narrowed, "His reasons cost me five years of research."
"They cost him a lot more than that."
She opened her mouth to retort, but the room began to shake violently. Lucas grabbed a railing nearby and she leaned against the wall for support. A moment later the seaquake ended and they stopped fighting long enough to look around, checking to make sure everything was still intact. "The seaquakes are getting stronger," observed Cavanaugh.
Lucas's PAL chirped insistently, and he answered it, "Ensign Bridger."
Commodore Robert Bridgers voice was clear, though worried, "That's three quakes in the last forty-eight hours, Lucas. How much longer will it take to clear out the base?"
"We're still transferring the data archives, sir. Well be a couple more days at least."
Robert looked around the bridge of the seaQuest, and over to Lieutenant Fredericks, who was at Lucas's usual place at the science station, "Commodore, the magnitude of that last quake was over four-point-nine. The seismic activity is definitely not easing up."
O'Niell turned to her, "How long do we have?"
"Tough to say. I'd say a week, maybe less. But in any case, I'd rather not be here when the big one hits," she answered, then on the PAL to Lucas. "Step it up, Ensign. I'd rather not have a broiled husband."
"Aye aye, ma'am," came Lucas's reply, as he closed his PAL with a slight grin and went back to work.
One the bridge Fredericks was still intent on the sensors. She wished it was Ortiz's shift, frankly, he was better at this than she. But as he was likely sleeping for his next shift, and Lucas was in the base, she was at the sensors. Suddenly, the screen began to display different colors as the temperature and agitation in the water changed, she turned to face Robert, "Sir, I'm picking up another seismic disturbance, its the aftershock from the last quake. Here comes the displacement wave..."
O'Niell called out, "All hands brace for impact."
For a moment the seaQuest seemed to shake, then as the shock wave passed, things settled down. Those who had not been able to get a hold of something to brace against picked themselves up from the deck plating. Robert looked around, Are we all in one piece?
A soft pinging sound could barely be heard and Lieutenant Commander O'Niell said, "Someone tell me that's not just my ears from the aftershock."
"No sir, it's not your ears, I can hear it too," said Lieutenant Mara Johansen, as she looked up from her station.
"I'm picking up a metallic object in the water, its emitting UEO transponder codes, sir," supplied Fredericks.
"Someone identify that," ordered Bridger.
"The signal is pretty messed up, sir, but I think it's a marker or buoy of some kind. Whatever it is, its been though Hell," she answered.
O'Neill turned to Robert and said, "The base had magma probes set up all over this area, sir. Dr. Cavanaugh might want to salvage it."
Robert nodded in agreement, "Piccolo, you detail. Take it to the base."
Standing up from the helm, Lieutenant JG Piccolo left for the Specter bays. As he went, he tried hard to keep his excitement in check. It was the first time since gaining his promotion that he was to go out in command of the Specters. Sometimes he could hardly believe he was this far in life, it was such a far cry from the prison he had formally been in.
He settled himself in the cockpit, ready to go after the floating enigma.
Tony pushed the cart with the battered and blackened device almost the same size of WSKR, only not spherical in shape. This was a cylinder that was so dented it made it look like some cars he saw after a demolition derby. Once Lucas and Cavanaugh saw him, he stopped pushing the cart. Lucas walked up to it, looked it over, and then turned to Tony, "What is it?"
"How should I know? I'm just the garbage man."
Cavanaugh was far more interested in the device than their petty exchange, and she knelt to take a closer look at it. She drew in a sharp breath, which attracted their attention. They looked down at her, and she used one hand to clean off a portion of the soot on the cylindrical hull of the device. Lucas read the words on it, and felt the blood drain from his face.
UEO Orpheus.
"This is the log recorder from the Orpheus," she said, then she looked up at Lucas. "It's from your father."
PART ONE: Frozen
May 28th, 2034
Orpheus Base
Control Center
Location Classified
It was as if the world had exploded in Lucas's mind. As if things stopped making any sense. Part of him wanted to scream. Another part wanted to run and hide. Yet another, the one that controlled him now, knew that neither was the answer.
The work on the base had continued around the clock, and not overly needing him. He was too numb to really register anything at the moment. Tony would look over to him in concern, but really Lucas was watching Dr. Cavanaugh intensely. Finally Lucas looked away at up at the vidlink to where Commodore Bridger looked on, "It's badly damaged sir. There are heat and pressure failures in most of the hardware."
"Can you access the data?"
"Possibly. The holographic memory cells are partially intact," Lucas paused, trying to keep memories of working on similar projects with his father from pushing to the front of his mind. "My father designed them, I guess he built them to last."
Robert could sense the emotions that ran just under the surface of Lucas's mind, and he willed the young Ensign to hold on just a while longer. "Well, once we clear out of here, you can give the data restoration your full priority."
"Thank you sir," Lucas answered, recognizing what support Robert was trying to give.
Bridger was about to cut the link when Cavanaugh moved into the visual range of the pick-ups. "Commodore, if this log recorder survived, then maybe the Orpheus did too."
Taking a breath, knowing that he was about to dash her hopes, he said, "Doctor, from what I understand, the Orpheus was designed to travel down to a magma flow and set up some kind of power generator..."
"It was a hyper conducting coil. It was designed to absorb and store energy from the magnetic currents in the Earths magma flow," corrected Cavanaugh.
"That's exactly my point. The Orpheus wasn't on a pleasure cruise. The chances it survived this long under those conditions are slim," Bridger was slightly exasperated.
Cavanaugh thought for a moment, then changed tactics. "Commodore, if that hyperconductor is still intact it would have stored up an incredible amount of power enough to run the entire North American continent for a year," suddenly, she had an idea of how to convince him, and herself, that it was a good idea. "And if we can retrieve it, the UEO and all allied with it won't have to depend on people like Larry Deon for energy anymore. Don't you think that's worth the risk?"
Robert took a breath and exhaled. While Deon was dead, there were others that would make a grab for power, and others who already had it. Already, the UEO and all those allied with it were negotiating energy contracts with half a dozen suppliers. Before he could give her an answer, she punched a button, and the screen split, one half showing her and the inside of the base, and the other to display an extremely complicated web of large undersea caves and tunnels that descended far below the ocean floor.
"The Orpheus followed a series of lava tunnels in an extinct volcano to a magma flow approximately two kilometers down. As you can see, the tunnels are wide enough to accommodate one of your shuttles," she grinned, already knowing what his answer was about to be. He was as much a scientist as his father, and she could see in the corner of her eye Nathan Bridger's student in Marine Geology clamoring in the background. "If you're willing to try, it can be done."
"I'd say you were being overly optimistic."
"Commodore, I understand Captain Hudson helped you scour the oceans for ten years looking for the seaQuest before you found it sitting in a cornfield in Iowa. How optimistic were you and Mr. Hudson?"
"Just enough," Robert considered it a moment, and came to the conclusion that there really was nothing to lose in the venture. But he could not let her hopes get too high... the seabed could get unstable really fast. "I'll be here for a couple more days, Doctor. If you can find some stronger evidence that anything is still down there, I'll reconsider."
The vidlink closed. Cavanaugh looked over to Lucas Bridger to where he stood off to one side, an unreadable expression on his face. What he must be thinking right now... He gave up his surname thinking his family gave up on him to take on a new family. And now his old one has come back to haunt him, she shivered slightly. She didn't even want to know what that felt like.
May 29th, 2034
seaQuest DSV
Holographic Imaging Lab
Ensign Lucas Bridger and Dr. Sheila Cavanaugh were connecting the log recorder to the holographic playback in the room. All they could see was static as they worked on getting at least a picture, or some sort of image. Something to say they had connected at least the right wires.
Lucas worked making the two different software programs more compatible so at least when they had the right wiring the two systems would understand each other. After awhile the static began to vaguely focus into an extremely cramped bridge of a research vessel. In many ways Lucas was reminded of the Calypso, but this was even smaller.
They could see a single command chair that sat in front of a console, probably navigation and the helm as a ship that small was more like a larger version of the MR shuttles. Neither could pick out any details. It could have simply been a MR shuttle for all they could see. "That's somewhat better," murmured Cavanaugh.
"What are we looking at?" asked Lucas.
"It's the bridge of the Orpheus. The ships log was designed to make a continuous holographic record of everything in the cabin."
Lucas nodded in understanding, "I see. So if you needed to check the readouts, you could just zoom in on them, and monitor them in real time. Impressive."
"It was my idea. Its more efficient than conventional recording techniques," she waited a moment, then sighed. "Ramp the Gaussian filter."
"All right," Lucas bent to a computer and worked on clearing up the image.
A moment later the holographic bridge came into sharp focus, and it was like he was inside the bridge, inside the Orpheus. Cavanaugh moved forward and bent over the display of one monitor. From the data on the displays, it looks like this segment was recorded before the mission began. "Its probably just an imaging test," she moved over to a computer beside Lucas. Let me try to scan it forward.
She worked for a moment and the image blurred. Lucas had no idea what to expect, but his heart felt like it was in his mouth. He hadn't seen nor talked to his father in nearly fifteen years, although to Lucas it was still only five years. The image cleared, but not well. A man in his fifties stepped into the cockpit, and Lucas was unable to breathe or think.
Dr. Lawrence Wolenczak looked like he was speaking, but neither could hear him. Cavanaugh said, "See if you can boost the playback again."
She turned when nothing immediately happened, and she saw the lost look on the younger man's face. In a way, she knew how he felt, but now was no time for it. In irritation, she grabbed Lucas's control from his hands and did it herself. It seemed to work, then they began to lose it again.
As if released from his spell, Lucas grabbed another instrument and read the information on it, "We're losing the AV convertor."
"Stabilize it."
"I'm trying..."
For a moment Lucas worked feverishly but the image only dissolved into the same snow that it had been before. They looked at each other, but Lucas looked away. Truthfully, Cavanaugh was feeling a bit spooked herself. What am I afraid of? A ghost? But she did not believe in ghosts. "I think I can modify a standard imaging array to work as a replacement," she said. "I'll get on it."
She began to walk away, but Lucas grabbed her arm, "That's all you have to say?"
Lucas was surprised, she could tell. "You were partners with my father for five years," he began. "You were friends. This is the first time you've seen him in three years, and this is how you react?"
"I'm sorry you lost your father, Lucas, and can go ahead and mourn if you have to. But don't expect me to do the same," Cavanaugh pulled her arm out of his grasp. "As far as I'm concerned, Lawrence Wolenczak destroyed our project, and ruined my reputation in the process. This isn't about your father or you it's about me. If there's any chance at finding the Orpheus and vindicating my work, I'm going to take it. And that's all I'm interested in."
Cavanaugh left the holography lab, ignoring the stunned, and pained, expression on Lucas Bridgers face.
seaQuest DSV
Bridge
Robert Bridger and Tim O'Neill stood over Miguel Ortiz's shoulder as Miguel explained what he was showing them. On his screen, from what the two other men could see, was the seaQuest course with several points highlighted in brilliant orange. Robert had pressed his lips into a thin line, understanding perfectly what he was looking at. "Sensor echos?"
"Yeah, it looks that way," agreed Miguel. "Every once in awhile, the WSKRs are coming back with multiple sensor images."
"Have you checked for malfunctions?" asked O'Neill.
"We've run full diagnostics on all the WSKRs and sensor imaging systems. There's nothing wrong with anything," Miguel sounded put off by the suggestion that he would not have checked for such a thing. "Fruitloop was even behaving himself..."
"Fruitloop?" asked Robert in confusion. "What's a kids cereal got to do with anything?"
"It's the name of the fourth WSKR," Miguel answered with a tone of long suffering patience. "Usually if one malfunctions, it's Fruitloop." He waved off the question and continued, "I'll be doing a normal recon scan of a seamount, and then suddenly I'll be seeing two of them. And then a few minutes later, it goes away."
O'Niell bent over the screen muttering, "Mother, Junior, Loner and Fruitloop..." He crinkled his eyebrows then looked up at Robert, pointed to one of the highlighted dots on the screen. "Captain, according to this plot, each one echoes coincided with one of our course changes."
Robert sat in the command chair for a moment and seemed to be lost in thought. O'Niell was reminded of Nathan Bridger again. Sometimes he went into those kind of silences. Ford had called them Meditative Thought Processes. Robert then turned to Piccolo and Dagwood, "Lieutenant Piccolo, Ensign Dagwood... it looks like we might have a tail. See if you can find it."
"Yes, sir," came Piccolos answer as he got up from the Helm, and Dagwood saluted before leaving the bridge behind him.
Piccolo piloted his Specter to the left and behind of Dagwood's. "Dagwood, see anything yet."
"Sorry, Lieutenant, I haven't seen anything yet," Dagwood answered back.
Dagwood looked down at his instruments and at the sensors. Piccolo was an excellent leader himself, almost as good as Fredericks. A red light flashed, then the screen went red. Lieutenant, "I've got a sensor contact, bearing one-five-two mark eight... approximately two kilometers."
"I have him. Execute intercept course, maximum speed. I'm on my way," came Piccolos response.
"Aye Lieutenant."
Tony watched as Dagwood banked and accelerated away, and followed, then went towards the ridge as it came up, Dagwoods voice came across the com again, "Lieutenant, hes heading towards the ridge at grid point A-six. Can you cut him off?"
"No, I'm still fifty seconds away from your position," Tony kept his frustration under control. After the Stinger the Specters were slow and unresponsive. "What's your status?"
"I'm closing," Dagwood answered. "But my sensor image is breaking up."
Dagwood stared out of his canopy, trying to use the GELF augmented vision to his advantage. For a brief moment he saw something, "I think its some kind of ship. I'm almost on top of him."
The Specter hurtled over the ridge, and then he saw nothing. Whatever had been there was gone. Dagwood refrained from punching something in frustration as it usually resulted in damage. "It's gone," he reported. "There's nothing there, Lieutenant."
"Dammit," said Tony. "Return to your original course."
"Yes sir."
For brief moment the NorPac subfighter almost had them.
The ship that had been there the entire time, a killer ship, one that the Chaodai used extensively, moved back to the course it previously had... following the seaQuest.
May 30th, 2034
seaQuest DSV
Holographic Imaging Lab
Lucas had most of his emotions in control now. It was still strange to work in a room where his father moved, even if in holographic form. Even if he was on the Orpheus and not the seaQuest. Even though the holographic image, much improved from the first time they had tried this, was there and Lawrence was speaking, there was hardly any understandable sound.
The log recorder looked more like a WSKR than it did the original configuration, it was so covered with wires and other electronic components. "Almost there..." Cavanaugh murmured.
Lucas made one more twist with a small screwdriver, "Locking in audio DSPs... now."
And then the audio was finally clear, and they could hear the lost Dr. Wolenczaks voice. "... and so even though hull temperature and pressure are a little higher than anticipated, it's nothing we can't deal with," Wolenczak looked over to a clock on the console. "And at just under four hours into the mission, all systems are normal."
Lucas could notice the determination in his fathers voice, and even some of the excitement. "For the last twenty minutes, I've been seeing the first signs of the magma flow small glowing pressure cracks in the lava tube walls."
Lucas watched, transfixed. There were two halves warring inside him, but both were riveted. One was the Lucas Bridger, the one taught by Nathan Bridger, the Marine Geologist. This half was intrigued, and even a bit jealous of Dr. Wolenczak. The other half was what remained of the former Lucas Wolenczak, and he missed his father and feared what he knew would likely happen next even while he felt he was betraying the new.
"The pictures we got back from the remote probes don't even begin to do them justice. Ribbons of fire burning in water. Truly incred..."
Startled back into the present by the holographic image breaking up, Lucas looked over at Cavanaugh. "Well, we really didn't need the travelogue anyway," she said as she scanned it forward to the next clear spot. "This should be somewhere near thirty hours in."
They both had to recoil at the flickering red glow that illuminated the inside of the Orpheus. Lawrence was still in the command chair and looking over the consoles around the bridge. He was showing the strain of all the time in that chair. "... and for a second there, I thought I wasn't going to make it. The magma flow patterns were a lot trickier than I thought. But the hyperconductiong coil has been in place for the last eight hours," he checked the panel again. "Power is now twenty-four mega-Watts at seventy-five percent capacity... and the current energy storage is five hundred giga-Joules!"
A triumphant grin spread and for a moment Lawrence looked toward the camera, even though it felt more like he was looking right at them in the holographic image. "It's working like a charm. I only wish I remembered to pack the champagne."
"He did it... we did it," louder she turned to Lucas. "I think Commodore Bridger will agree that qualifies as stronger evidence."
Lucas had been about to answer, but that answer was torn from his mind as they heard the explosion in the hologram. They couldn't see what happened, but the result caused the Orpheus to shudder and its lights dimmed. Dr. Wolenczak seemed to fade as the color obviously drained from his face. "Oh my God," he said.
"What happened?" asked Lucas frantically.
Cavanaugh looked at the consoles, and looked back at Lucas, "It looks like some kind of feedback overload. I think he blew in onboard power systems."
In the image, Lawrence was scrambling to do something that might save his life. It was like watching O'Niell try and break through communications scrambling... or even himself hack into a computer. But the lights continued to fade and then they went out completely. Only the red emergency lights showed the inside of the Orpheus, and Lawrences terrified expression.
A moment of silence... then the holographic image turned to static again.
The static abruptly disappeared as Cavanaugh switched off the log recorder. "Why'd you stop it?" asked Lucas.
"I've seen enough."
"The Hell we did..." Lucas moved over to the log recorder and reached out a hand to restart it.
Cavanaugh stopped him by grasping his wrist, "Do yourself a favor, Lucas, don't watch the rest of it. We already know he didn't make it back." She stood up and as she left the lab, ignoring Lucas's glare, she said, "I'll get the Captain."
For a long moment, Lucas could only stare at the log recorder. He knew that on it would be his father's slow death, but... could he actually watch that? He swallowed nervously and then restarted the log, and he watched as his father assembled something around the command chair, "... lucky, I might be able to use the ships... sustain life indefinitely..." the sound was choppy but it was better than nothing. In fact it was almost the only thing that he could see as even the emergency lighting was dimming.
The image broke up into static and he scanned it forward to the next clear spot. A crude, transparent container was now around the command chair. "... hooking the system directly into the hyperconduction feed..."
Again the image broke up and Lucas scanned it to the next clear spot. This next image was silent. Lawrence Wolenczak sat silently in the command chair, under the cover. It was as if he was sleeping. Lucas froze the image and walked up to the chair. As if some instinct told him to, he read the console and could only stand there in shock.
Against what ever logic, hope bloomed.
Cryogenic Systems Active
"Oh my God," Lucas murmured finally. "He's alive."
PART TWO: Tunnel Vision
May 30th, 2034
16:30 hours
seaQuest DSV
Holographic Imaging Lab
Robert Bridger walked up the holographic image and looked on at the chair with the cryogenically frozen Lawrence Wolenczak in it. As much as he understood Lucas's need to find his father... Hell, he had done the same for nearly five years... but he didn't want Lucas to get his hopes up only to have them dashed in the end. "Robert, I know it sounds crazy, but I'm telling you, my father is alive," he saw Robert and Cavanaugh exchange the concerned, and very skeptical look. "When the Orpheus's power systems began to fail, my father knew he was going to be trapped down there. So he did the only thing he could do to survive: He put together a crude cryo-stasis chamber from equipment on the ship."
Lucas walked around the holographic bridge, pointing to various parts and consoles. "According to these readouts, it looks like he tapped directly into the power flow from the hyperconduction coil to power his cryo-systems," he stopped and stared the frozen, in more ways than one, image of his father. "It worked. It had to."
"Lucas I can understand how much you want this to be true," began Cavanaugh. "But as a scientist, you have to realize how farfetched this sounds."
"About as farfetched as believing that hyperconductor coil might have survived?" said Robert drily, and ignored the glare from Cavanaugh.
The image began to shake, only it was not the recording. A moment later they realized it was the seaQuest that was doing the shaking. Robert looked around concerned for a second, then Cavanaugh looked at the screen of her laptop computer. "Commodore, that last quake was a five-point-one. The lava tunnels are not going to last forever," she said. "If were going after the Orpheus, we have to go soon."
seaQuest DSV
wardroom
ONiell sat to one side of the table, just out of the pick up range of the vidlink. For the first time since his induction as Secretary General, O'Niell saw Captain Bridger. The older man looked tired, but he was still the old Nathan Bridger. "Do you think there's any chance of finding the hyperconductor intact?"
"It's hard to say," answered Robert. "Possibly. We've been picking up some unusual sensor echoes in out vicinity. Lieutenant Fredericks thinks they might be from a Chaodai ship."
Nathan compressed his lips in concern, but said nothing, so Robert continued, "This base was deserted until very recently, and its not far from their territory. They could have been attracted by the sudden activity."
"And we have seen some impressive stealth technology from the Chaodai before," said ONiell. "Remember Kimura's little fighter."
"You think the Chaodai are after the Orpheus as well," Nathan said.
"I don't think we should rule out the possibility," answered Robert.
Nathan leaned forward at his desk, thinking out the options open to him. "A fully energized hyperconducting coil would make the Chaodai practically energy-independent..."
"And even more dangerous than they are now," mentioned Robert. Come on, Dad, you know perfectly well the outcome...
You're absolutely right, son, was the answer. "It's your decision, Commodore."
Robert sat down and turned to O'Niell, who merely nodded his agreement. Robert tapped the communications pod, "Lieutenant Ortiz."
"Yes, Captain?" the link showed Ortiz in the command chair.
"My Dad is sending us spelunking. Outfit a shuttle with a weapons package. I want double pressure checks on all the bulkheads," ordered Robert. "And install secondary heat exchangers on the hull its going to get a little hot down there."
"Lieutenant Jamieson says he can have it ready in five hours, Speeder class shuttle."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," he shut the link to the bridge off and turned back to his father who was still on the vidlink.
"Robert... If you do find the Orpheus but you can't salvage it: Your orders are to destroy it."
"Understood, sir," answered Robert.
Nathan closed the vidlink and Robert turned to O'Niell, "I always wanted a bit of adventure..."
Lucas sat at his computer in his quarters. He sat there for a long time before finally ordering, "Establish vidlink to Doctor Cynthia Wolenczak."
A moment later the answer came back, "Unable to comply. There is no UEO listing for that name."
Blinking his eyes in confusion, he wondered, They can't both be dead, can they? Then he had an idea, "Establish vidlink to Cynthia Holt."
For a moment he thought that maybe this wouldn't work either, but a moment later the severe woman appeared on the screen. His mother hadn't changed much. She still looked anal retentive, strict. All business. And then she gasped, and even frowned a bit.
"Hello, Mom," answered Lucas finally. "When did you start using your maiden name?"
The formality was killing him. She should have been happy to see him, even welcoming... What were you expecting, Lucas, from a woman who usually sent you to the Nanny when you cried? "A while ago," she answered. "You're looking well, Lucas. What can I do for you?"
"We're going to try and salvage the Orpheus, Mom. And there's a chance that Dad might still be alive down there in cryo-stasis."
His mother seemed shocked, and it took a long time for her to answer. "You're serious?"
"Yes, I am," he replied. "Look... if you get on a jump-jet right now, you could be here in a couple of hours. I'm sure I could convince the Commodore to hold the ship for you..." He took a breath, "Come with me."
She didn't answer him at all this time. "Mom, if there's even a slight chance he's still alive, I have to find out for sure."
"Then I think you should do whatever you feel you have to."
"Don't you even want to know?"
"I already know. And I made my peace with your fathers death a long time ago."
Lucas's eyes thinned, knowing where she was also leading, "Yeah. And when seaQuest left Earth and I disappeared for ten years... I guess you made your peace with that too."
His mother looked away from his hardened gaze. In a soft voice that he knew was his permanent good bye, "Take care of yourself, Lucas."
The vidlink closed at her end and he could only sit there in suppressed rage.
In the shuttle mere hours later, Robert walked to Lucas. He could sense the conflicting emotions in the younger man. He could sympathize with that. In a way, Robert had done the same thing when searching for seaQuest, and his own father, before it reappeared on Earth. "We're hooking the log recorder into the power mains right now, sir. We'll be ready to go in couple minutes."
"Are you sure there's any point? I thought most of the data on the recorder was unusable," Robert walked up to the cockpit and began to check on the shuttle.
"I'll be able to fill some of the gaps along the way. Besides that log contains the exact path the Orpheus took. It's the best map we've got," this from Cavanaugh.
"Robert... you don't have to go with us," Lucas noticed that he was doing the shuttle check.
"It's not that I particularly want to, Lucas. There's a job to do, you're not cleared for this kind of swimming yet," Robert answered. "And... I figured you might want the support of someone who has gone through this type of thing before."
Lucas slipped into the co-pilot seat as Robert slid into the pilots seat. Robert tapped the com switch, "Shuttle to bridge."
On the bridge O'Niell sat in the command chair. He answered, "O'Neill here."
"How's it look out there?" asked Robert.
"All seismic indicators are quiet, sir," answered Ortiz from his station. "The interior tunnel structure seems pretty stable... at least for now."
Cavanaugh walked into the cockpit and strapped herself into a rear seat at a different station. She noticed it was a secondary weapons station and she decided to avoid leaning on it. "Clear us for launch, Commander."
"Aye sir," came O'Niell's voice.
Robert piloted the Speeder out and into the nearest tunnel. He whistled at the steep angle of the dive. It was going to be tricky. Avoiding any mental reference to Voyage to the Center of the Earth, he began the dive. He was vaguely aware of Cavanaugh bracing herself behind him at the motion. "Ensign, whats our clearance?"
"We've got at least ninety meters on all sides," answered Lucas.
"It's not much room to maneuver," Robert murmured, a bit worried.
"We don't have to maneuver, Commodore," came Cavanaugh's reply. "All we have to do is keep going down." She checked a console beside her, one not having to do with weapons directly. "At this rate we should reach the Orpheus in less than fifteen hours. There's nothing to worry about."
She was half aware of the strange look she received from Bridger, but she ignored it. The man was paranoid.
On the seaQuest, O'Neill leaned forward in his chair. It was the first time being in command when the Captain was not on board. Naturally, he was a little nervous, but importantly not showing just how nervous he was. Ortiz, picking up on it, said, "We're three hundred meters in and looking good, sir."
"All right," answered O'Niell after a moment. "Mr. Piccolo, put us into a standard recon pattern. Migs, deploy WSKRS at maximum range, full scans. If there are Chaodai patrols out there lets make sure we find them first."
Outside the ship, as they moved away from the tunnel, Loner paused over a rocky section and suddenly paused. For a moment it stayed there as if it picked up on something. As if shaking its head and not seeing anything, it moved on to join the others.
In that very spot moments later the Chaodai ship dropped its cloak and headed into the tunnel. Taking a moment to hide itself, it moved into the tunnel...
... after the Speeder and the Orpheus.
The Speeder carrying Robert, Lucas and Cavanaugh was actually making good time. The walls were lit by the spots on the ship. Robert leaned back in the chair and watched Lucas and Cavanaugh work on the log recorder. "The next segment was taken about two hours after the Orpheus started in," Lucas reported to a half interested Robert.
"That should correspond roughly to our current position. Lets take a look," supported Cavanaugh and the hologram came to life again.
Lawrence sat at the chair, and was extremely involved in whatever he was doing as he spoke, "... never expected the intensity of the convection currents I've been experiencing down here. If I had to guess, I'd say they were generated by the magma cracks in the tunnel walls which suddenly superheat the surrounding water. The result is a high velocity jet which..."
Beeping could be heard, and Robert looked to the console that was beeping in the hologram. Knowing what was coming he shook his head. "Uh oh, here come another one," said the holographic Lawrence.
They saw Lawrence brace himself. A dull thump seemed to hit the Orpheus and it seemed to just be picked up and washed down the tunnel. The sheer force pushed Lawrence back into his seat. The ship began to shake and Lawrence fought the forces to regain control of his ship. The shaking stopped and Wolenczak sighed in relief. "Well that was fun," he checked a console. "And it even looks like I made some time on that one. That was one Hell of a tail wind. But no problem for the Orpheus. Sheila and I built a good ship."
His expression darkened, as did Cavanaugh's in real life. Lawrence seemed to trying to say something, but not able to find the words. Lucas looked over to Cavanaugh, but her face was carefully neutral. Even Robert noticed the sudden tension in the room, and he drew back, sensing that maybe something personal was about to happen. "I suppose I should explain all of this to her when this is over, but..." Lawrence took a deep breath as if he knew he might not be coming back. For the second time, he turned and looked directly into the camera, at them.
"Sheila, I know how much this project meant to you, and I'm sorry I just took off like this. I've always been better at building things than I was at explaining myself to other people, but I want you to understand..." he looked away for a moment. "Cynthia's been out of my life for years. But when Lucas disappeared... for the first time, I really felt alone..."
Robert looked down at his feet, knowing exactly what Lucas was feeling. He had felt the same when he realized that his own father truly had cared about him. All his work had been so Robert could be cared for, so his mother could be cared for. He swallowed, knowing Lucas was probably about to take a kick to the mental state. Looking at Lucas, he could see the damage was already done...
"You know, I can't even remember if I ever told that kid how much he meant to me... or how proud I was of him. And I guess I did the same things to you. Two and I still don't know how to learn," Lawrence continued. "Sheila. No one's going to miss me if I go down on a stunt like this. So I figured there was no reason for you to risk your life on it as well. You're a terrific scientist and a good friend. I hope you can forgive me." Lawrence swallowed, "Drink's on me when I get back."
Dr. Wolenczak turned back to the console and his controls, to the Orpheus. Everyone was silent. Then Cavanaugh walked over and turned off the recorder.
May 31st, 2034
Speeder shuttle
Sub-ocean tunnels
Robert watched Lucas and Cavanaugh work on the recorder. He shook his head and then a rushing sound could be heard. "Do you hear that?" asked Lucas.
Right after the Speeder lurched to one side. Robert grabbed the control yoke and tried to keep some semblance of control. "Ensign Bridger, get up here!" yelled Robert.
Lucas and Cavanaugh scrambled into the cockpit and Lucas slid in beside Robert. The ship was still shaking and listing to the one side, as if some great hand was pushed them in that direction. In a way, there was. "What happened?" asked Lucas
"We're caught in some kind of thermal current... It came out of nowhere..." explained Robert.
Lucas looked at a console, "It's forcing us into the wall. Sixty meters and closing fast."
They could see the wall closing in on them. Robert knew he didn't want to join Wolenczak in this subterranean tomb and desperately held on to the control stick to try and veer away. "Boost port engines!" he ordered. "I'm taking the rudder hard over."
"I'm on it," answered Lucas.
"Forty meters," came Cavanaugh's voice.
The Speeder sub groaned with the effort and Robert willed it to hang on. "Port engines at maximum," said Lucas.
"It's coming around," the relief was evident in Robert's voice.
"Twenty meters," Cavanaugh called out, sounding somewhat resigned.
The engines whined and to seemed to Robert that just for a moment they might not slam into the wall. But it was not to be and Lucas heard the crunch right before they slammed into the wall. A rumbling sound that could only mean a rock fall nailed the Speeder into the wall.
The shuttle began to roll with the rocks, and Lucas, holding on saw Robert get tossed out of the pilots chair, and Cavanaugh being tossed like a rag doll.
Roberts head hit the console with a sickening crunch and Lucas's heart lurched, but he knew once the shuttle stopped rolling that they were trapped. Moments later, as the shuttle settled, Lucas relaxed his grip and let the exhaustion wash over him
PART THREE: Fire and Brimstone
Same day
A few hours later
Speeder shuttle
Lucas got up groggily, and saw Cavanaugh do the same. Looking over at Robert, Lucas saw that he was not moving. Jesus, let this not be the message I carry back, he prayed. "Damage report," said Lucas.
"The hull is intact," answered Cavanaugh. "No breaches."
"The power systems are still online," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "We were lucky."
He went over to where Robert was still lying on the deck. He rolled him over and saw the nasty gash on his head. It was definitely going to need stitches. Lucas tried to wake him up, "Sir, Robert, wake up please..."
Roberts eyes flickered open and he moved a hand to his forehead,
Lucas breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank God."
The relief was short lived as Robert tried to sit up, but gasped in pain and the color drained from his face. He laughed, although clearly one laced with pain. "That didn't work too well," he said.
Lucas set his lips grimly, "If we can get out of here well have to go back, sir."
Robert shook his head, "No, Ensign, and that's an order. Find that Orpheus, or this'll have been a huge waste of time. I'll be fine. Now see if you can get us out of here."
Lucas sat in the pilots chair and Cavanaugh helped Robert to the couch like bench down in the passenger area and settled him, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Lucas revved the engines and eased the throttle forward. The shuttle never moved. He checked a console as the whine steadily increased. "It's not doing much, were pinned in tight."
He eased off the throttle and the engines wound down, the whine ending. Cavanaugh came in and they looked out the canopy, into the murk.
O'Niell listened intently to Lucas, still in disbelief. The signal was really bad, constantly breaking up in static and sometimes distorted so bad he couldn't see Lucas although they could hear him. "I think we can work ourselves free... eventually. Its just going to take some time," said Lucas.
"I can have an assault craft en route in ten minutes," answered ONiell.
"No, if we were picked up and thrown into a wall, think about what would happen to a smaller ship. Let's not have to rescue someone else, okay, Tim?" said Lucas, then he turned away to listen to Robert. "The Commodore agrees with me. Send no one down here."
O'Neill could only shake his head again, then he looked over to Darwin's tank. "Hey, Lucas, what would you say to a tow?"
"The tow lines feeding out just fine, sir. He's on his way," said Ortiz. "I don't think Lucas is too happy about risking Darwin like this."
"Yeah, I know," agreed O'Niell, although he was just as worried as Lucas was about the entire thing. "ETA to the shuttle?"
"Two hours and twenty minutes," answered Mara Johansen. "Do you think this is going to work?"
"I certainly hope so," said O'Niell. "If they are pinned in too tight, we won't get them out, but we will get them loose enough to allow them to work themselves out."
Lucas sat beside Robert and watched as Cavanaugh worked on the log recorder. Robert was asleep, although fitfully. Every so often Lucas had to reassure him that things were fine. But things are not fine, are they Lucas? It worries you that maybe not only will the Captain have to mourn over the death of his son again, but also over you... He shook his head and sent that thought where it belonged, to the back of his mind and not at the foremost of his thoughts. He had to concentrate on other things now. He was in command...
... And he really didn't like this command.
Robert woke up, coherent, and very intent, "Is Darwin here?"
"No," answered Lucas.
"Doctor, I think its time you took a shift upstairs," the tone was mild, but clearly Robert meant it as an order. Lucas was reminded of Nathan who had the same ability to issue orders in that same mild tone.
"Darwin should've been here by now," said Lucas, worried.
"Lucas, your fathers ship has been down her for three years. Even assuming its intact..." he trailed off a moment, but before Lucas could suspect he was asleep again he continued. "A few more hours one way or the other are not going to make a difference."
"You don't know that for a fact, sir... Neither do I," Lucas was silent for a moment as well, remembering, and Robert waited him out. "All my life, as long as I can remember, my father and I treated each other like complete strangers. And the only way I can find out how he really felt about me... is like this."
"Lucas... how much did my Dad talk about me?"
"Every time I did something, or even sometimes when... God, lots. I know quite a bit about you. Maybe more than you'd like," they laughed for a moment, then Lucas grew serious. "He was so... sad when I first met him. I remember saying to myself, 'Hey, Lucas, here is someone that had their heart torn from them.' I never realized how right I was. At first I only knew about Carol, about how great a woman she was. How pretty, how loving, how intelligent, how funny... then he would get a far off look and his eyes would simply grow flat, as if just knowing that she wasn't there was killing him. And it was, oh it was. Then I... I left the seaQuest for a week of supposed freedom. I met Mycroft then..."
He shook his head. "I came back and he hugged me like he was never going to let me go again. By then I knew about you and about your Mom. He told me about how that the first time you left home for any amount of time was the academy, but you were close by. He could still see you. The second time you were dead. He was afraid that I wasn't going to come back. I scared him to death. Then he opened up. He was proud of you, of your bravery, of your sacrifice. It nearly killed him too, but he was proud."
"Killed him too?"
"Evidently your disappearance was a lot harder on him than on your mother. He felt responsible for it. He felt it was his fault you were dead. To him you were the best son anyone could have. You were responsible and you never snuck out. Sometimes you were difficult when you were a teenager, but only because you were more distant than he liked, but you never, unlike most kids your age, never fell to drugs, drinking or sex. He didn't have to worry about you like other parents because you were the role model in your class," Lucas sighed. "You were only stupid once... and it was laughable. Granted, he had to be stern, it was his job. But he found that instance about a certain pink mule hilarious."
"That wasn't me, it was Ben who did that!" defended Robert. "Remind me to kill him when we get back."
They laughed for a moment. "Lucas... he never told me."
"Told you what?"
"My childhood and yours... they were very similar in respects to fathers," Robert sighed. "I never felt like I could really talk to Dad because he was always so stern and so reserved. We were strangers to each other. We hardly ever talked once I moved out. I talked to him maybe once a year. Mom... well, she was extremely hard to ignore."
Lucas looked at him in surprise, "I don't understand what you're trying to tell me, sir."
"Don't fall back on him, Lucas," Robert leaned back drowsily. "I hope we find your father. That's why I don't want you to turn the Speeder around when we get free. But I want you to do something if we can't salvage the Orpheus."
"Anything," Lucas promised.
"Are you sure?" Robert gave him an intent stare out of the one eye not swollen shut. "I was ordered to destroy the Orpheus and the hyperconductor if we couldn't salvage it. Since I can't, you have to. You are in command, Ensign, it is your responsibility if the mission is a success or a failure."
Lucas was speechless, but right before he could answer, Robert murmured, "And I have faith that you will do the right thing..."
Robert seemed to pass out again, and Lucas could only stare down at him in shock. A loud screech then echoed through the shuttle and Cavanaugh came down. "Lucas said, It's Darwin... hes here."
Ortiz looked up from his console to where O'Neill was looking over the Engineering Chiefs, Lt. Cmdr. Ron McGregor, shoulder. O'Neill was in a deep conversation with him about the Speeder's possible condition. Ortiz cleared his throat and O'Neill looked over, "Sir, hes at the shuttle."
"Hook them up," ordered ONeill.
"Releasing the line from Darwin's rig now," said McGregor, as he sat at his console and typed in the commands.
Lucas watched as Darwin swam away, still screeching a happy note as he went. The dolphin was soon out of sight. The metallic clang of a large something attaching itself to the hull still reverberated through the cabin, and once it settled to a manageable level, Lucas said, "The tow line is attached."
"Your dolphin does nice work," said Cavanaugh.
Lucas punched a key on the controls of the shuttle, "Okay, Tim. Reel us in."
Tim didn't respond, but they felt the shuttle sharply move when the line suddenly went taut. To help the tow line, Lucas eased the throttle until the engines replaced the echoes of the magnetic clamps. The indicators went red telling him that the engines were about to overheat. Tims voice came through the com, "It's not working, Lucas. You're in too tight."
"Increase tension on the line," said Lucas. "I've got an idea."
"We've already maxed it out," Tim's voice was incredulous. "Any more and it could snap."
"That's the point. I think we could use that motion to knock a few rocks loose," explained Lucas.
It might have worked if the Chaodai vessel had not fired on said rocks.
They decloaked beyond where the small crew of the Speeder could see, suddenly not being part of the surrounding rocks anymore. At that moment they fired on the rocks that held the shuttle. The line snapped, and the shuttle moved free of the entrapping rocks.
Lucas braced himself as the shuttle leapt forward, and he eased off the throttle so they wouldn't run into the other side of the tunnel. "Commander, we've lost the tow line... and were free," said Lucas.
Cavanaugh joined him in the cockpit as the shuttle resumed its progress. The tunnels connect to the primary magma flow right up ahead. "This is just about where we planned to insert the hyperconduction coil..."
The shuttle started to buck and rock in the sudden turbulence, and for a moment they both looked at each other in worry. Lucas kept a tight hold of the controls. One bad hit and the indicators all went red. "It's getting a little rough, Ensign," Robert said from behind them.
"The heat gradients from the magma flow make this entire region turbulent," answered Cavanaugh.
"We can handle it," said Lucas.
Both Cavanaugh and Robert gave him an incredulous look. "I see something..." said Lucas.
They looked where Lucas pointed as the shuttle stopped just out of the reach of the tendrils of fire from the magma ribbon. Superheated water far above the shuttles tolerances formed a curtain, and beyond they could clearly make out the form of a ship. For a moment Cavanaugh was speechless, then she whispered, "The Orpheus."
She looked down at a console and read off what she saw, "I'm picking up a strong magnetic signature below the magma flow. Its the coil. Its still there."
The shuttle rocked again, and this time they could hear a distinct pop and then a hiss. "I didn't like the sound of that," said Robert.
"Neither did I," agreed Lucas, and he looked at the console and turned extremely pale. "Sir, the shuttle is coming apart... Well never even make it back to the seaQuest."
Robert answered drily, "What about the Orpheus? I really don't enjoy the prospect of being made into Robert Bridger a la King."
The oh please look from Lucas only told him that he'd heard the joke before, and the second time around it wasn't quite as funny. Cavanaugh, though, was having a really hard time holding a straight face. "We can get through in a DSL suit," Lucas said thoughtfully.
Robert nodded, "How many are on board?"
"Three," answered Cavanaugh.
"Let's suit up," ordered Robert.
Three suits exited the Speeder, and began to make their way across. Halfway across, they saw the shuttle descend and explode into a ball of fire. "Lucas, I'm exceeding the temperature limits of the suit," came Cavanaugh's voice though the com.
They were supporting Robert, who, while still conscious, was still extremely off balance. "Don't worry, so am I. It won't be for much longer," answered Lucas. "Hit your thruster just after that second jet on your left fires. Go on my mark."
"All right," she answered.
A tense minute later, and the jet subsided. Lucas ordered, "Stop."
For a moment he couldn't see anything. He could have even dove into the magma flow, then the water cleared and they were through.
In the Orpheus, they laid down Robert in the bridge off to the side. He looked around and said, "The air is stale. My instruments say there isn't much oxygen in here. We'd suffocate."
The red emergency lights still flashed insistently. Only occasionally did the ship rock from the turbulence that destroyed the shuttle within minutes. Lucas seemed to look around frantically, then they saw the command chair. Robert held his breath, he didn't have a good instinct on this, but Lucas did deserve to know for sure.
Cavanaugh reached it first, and looked in on Lawrence Wolenczak. She immediately dropped her eyes and looked sorrowfully at Lucas.
The body inside the transparent shell, once his eyes focused enough to see, was almost a skeleton, it had been that long. Robert could feel the sudden overwhelming sorrow rolling off of Lucas in the same type of waves that were outside the ship.
PART FOUR: Resolution
June 1st, 2034
early morning
The Orpheus
Cavanaugh had her DSL encased hand on Lucas's DSL encased shoulder. "Lucas, I'm sorry."
Lucas examined the cryo-chamber and all the computers attached to it, but it was clear that he couldn't see very well through the tears that still fell. "All the equipment's still on-line. He should still be alive."
Checking another console, Cavanaugh said, "The power levels are completely zeroed out."
"That doesn't make any sense... Lucas walked over to where the hyperconductor read outs were. The hyperconductor is in the magma flow. Its charged and working perfectly."
"In the log, your father said he hooked the cryo-system directly into the coil. We would have had power to burn," said Robert.
Slapping a panel, Cavanaugh said, "That's it..." She turned to explain. "The hyperconductor was designed to absorb power from the magma flow. But if that flow was interrupted which must have happened it would have created a feedback loop. The coil would have switched to whatever other power source it was hooked up to."
"The cryo-systems," hissed Lucas.
"It sucked them dry," said Robert grimly.
"I guess my Dad designed it a little too well," Lucas sighed.
There was a silent moment, then Robert said quietly, "Lucas... your father died for this project. At least we can try to make his sacrifice worthwhile. We still have to raise the coil."
Cavanaugh and Lucas moved the remains of Lawrence Wolenczak aft and Lucas disassembled the cryo chamber. Then he got to work seeing if he could repair the damage that had stranded the Orpheus in the first place. After a few hours of labor, the console in question lit up. "Feed power into the banks," said Lucas.
Robert sat at another station, and said, "The hyperconductor is in our loading bay. Loading power into the banks..."
"It worked..." Lucas breathed. "Sir, I think were going to live."
The bridge and the ship suddenly lit up, and the consoles came to life. Lucas stared at the command chair a long time before sliding into it, "Starting the engines."
A whirring noise aft alerted them to the fact that the engines had come to life. Cavanaugh came back and sat in another station. "The hyperconductor has been disconnected, we are under our own power now. The Orpheus is ready to swim, Lucas."
The feeling of the ship being in the water replaced the feeling of sitting on rock and sea floor and the ship moved through the curtain slowly. Once they were through, a ship clearly designed by the Chaodai blocked their path. "Uh, Sheila, is there weapons on the Orpheus?" asked Robert.
"No," came her quiet answer.
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," responded Robert. "Can you get past them, Lucas?"
"No sir, I can't," he answered. "But they're hailing us."
Robert reached out and accepted the vidlink connection. An Asian man in a Chaodai uniform appeared on the screen, "Attention NorPac vessel. You will surrender your cargo and vacate the area immediately."
"This is a UEO sanctioned research operation in NorPac waters," answered Robert.
"This magma flow originates from within Chaodai territory. Anything derived from it belongs to us," answered the commander. "We want the hyper conductor, Commodore, and we will take it. From the shattered hull of your ship if you insist."
Robert muted the vidlink in mid-rant and turned to Lucas. "They have us outgunned. Any suggestions?"
"Yeah," answered Lucas. "We turn it over to them."
Robert and Cavanaugh turned to Lucas in shock, but he grinned, "What happened to the Orpheus, sir?"
Grinning, Robert nodded in appreciation.
A few moments later after giving the Chaodai the hyperconductor, and then it was locked into their systems. Lucas hit a button and they watched as electricity arced over the Chaodai vessel, draining it of all its power. Robert initiated the vidlink, "Commander, in a few minutes you wont even have enough power for life support. We're willing to take you back with us... In custody, of course."
"You have a great deal to learn about the Chaodai, Commodore," answered the stricken commander. "Allow me to demonstrate."
He hit a button on his own console. The image disintegrated into static and then the Chaodai vessel exploded and the remains of the hull floated down into the magma flow. The ribbon began to widen. As Lucas piloted the ship to the hyperconductor and reloaded it into the cargo bay, he said, "I think its time to get the Hell out of here, sir."
"I completely agree with you, Ensign," answered Robert.
O'Neill sat the seaQuest outside the tunnel. The message from the Captain had been extremely garbled, and almost ununderstandable. Two things had made it out.
Chaodai attack, and mission completed.
He didn't expect what he saw moments later as the Orpheus came out of the tunnels, completely powered up and in running order.
Moments later, Commodore Robert Bridger appeared on the vidscreen, "Commander, unfortunately the Speeder is probably slag by now, but we managed to bring something else with us."
A/N: Sept 2010 - I cannot tell you how much of a pain in the butt it was to go through this chapter again... it was like all the quotation marks and apostrophes had vanished... I had to manually re-enter the whole lot... Thankfully we're near the end now.