I love seaQuest. But it's not mine.
Bizarre-shaped balloon animals for all my kind reviewers, Jan, Mar, pari106, ano, PhoenixTears80, Pheniox-Skye and sara.
Jan: thanks for the idea, I already had it planned out, but I always appreciate tips : ) ano: how could I forget you? I hope you're feeling better now
This one's a bit short. Sorry about that, guys...
Pro Patria Mori
Chapter 16
Braithwaite was woken by the beeping of his com. He sat up and activated the link. Simpson's voice came through.
"Sir, a UEO vessel is approaching the mine."
Braithwaite was on the bridge in minutes. "Range," he called to Halloran. The sensor chief looked up.
"Forty klicks, sir."
Braithwaite nodded. "Size?"
Halloran's face twisted in a grim smile. "It's the seaQuest, sir."
Braithwaite felt a smile of his own creeping onto his features. "So, they sent their best man," he said speculatively. "Time for a rematch."
"Shuttle MR-5, you are clear for launch."
Robert Bridger grinned as he flicked on the ignition. In the seat next to him, the pretty young ensign, Romero, looked nervous. It was her first mission. Robert smiled at her.
"Don't worry, Ensign. This is going to be a walk in the park."
He fired the thrusters and piloted the shuttle carefully out of seaQuest, as he had done hundreds of times before. Only this time it wasn't a drill: this time it was a real mission, and he was in charge.
He remembered Lucas' words, and for a moment his smile faded. Well, he would show him. He would show everyone. Once this mission was over, they would realise that he was a good soldier.
"Ensign," he said to his co-pilot, "in a few hours the UEO will have enough uranium to make us all glow in the dark for years."
The young ensign smiled.
Lucas sat by the side of the moon pool, rubbing Darwin's chin distractedly. The dolphins whistled and chattered. Lucas was almost glad the vocorder prototype still wasn't working. He didn't feel like talking.
A soft voice behind him startled him, though through force of habit he suppressed the emotion from his features. He turned and saw Dr. Westphalen. She smiled at him. "Without your constant companion today, I see."
Lucas looked up in surprise at the security guard. No, he was still there. He had been allowed to come out without further escort today by Ford; he wondered if the guy felt sorry for him.
"I meant Robert," Westphalen said. Lucas sighed.
"He's on a mission."
"I know," the doctor said kindly. "I heard that you had a fight about it."
Lucas didn't speak. He looked back down at Darwin.
Westphalen sat down by the side of the pool. "This is an odd situation, isn't it," she said reflectively. "You've barely known each other two months, and yet you're closer than many old friends. The really odd thing is," she looked at him pointedly, "that although he's so much older than you, you feel responsible for him."
Lucas' mouth twitched slightly.
"You have to let him try to prove himself," Westphalen continued. "I know, I know," she said when Lucas looked up sharply, "it's not about proving oneself. But it is for him. He's young, little more than a boy, really. He doesn't know what you know. But the only way he can learn is by finding out for himself."
Lucas shook his head. "This is not a game. What if he gets hurt?"
Westphalen smiled gently. "You know, this really is a simple mission," she said. "You don't think the captain would have sent him out there alone if it was dangerous, do you?" Lucas looked at her, unconvinced.
"I tell you what," the doctor said, "I'll tune my PAL to the bridge frequency. Then we'll be able to hear how things are going."
Lucas shook his head. "The captain won't allow it," he said tonelessly.
Westphalen grinned mischievously. "Well, I won't tell him if you won't," she said conspiratorially, and was rewarded with a look of gratitude.
"Sir, they've launched a shuttle," Halloran said from his console. Braithwaite looked up.
"Range?"
"500 metres."
"Weapons?"
Halloran checked his console. "Looks like it's pretty lightly armed. They're not even running in stealth mode."
Braithwaite shook his head. "Overconfident," he muttered. "They won't make that mistake again."
"Shuttle MR-5, you are cleared for docking at port 3," O'Neill said sounding slightly bored. Still, he reflected, bored was better than being in the middle of a dogfight. Last week he had been sure that they'd had it. But then, he was sure he was going to die about twice a day these days. He wished he were a little less timid, like Ortiz or Robert.
"Roger that. Preparing to dock," came Robert's voice, slightly crackly with static. There was a faint clank in the background, and a female voice could be heard saying "What was that?"
Hitchcock frowned slightly. "MR-5, please advise on your status."
"Sounds like something just hit us," Robert said. "Doesn't seem to have done any damage though."
Hitchcock nodded, satisfied. But then, a moment later, Robert's voice came again. "SeaQuest, this is MR-5. We're losing thrust, over."
Bridger looked up at Ortiz. The sensor chief nodded. "It's true. Deceleration at," he checked his console, "35 metres a second."
"MR-5, check to see if you have a fuel leak," Hitchcock said calmly.
There was a pause, then Robert's voice came back. "That's a negative. Fuel tanks are intact. Thrusters are at full, but we're still slowing down." There was a worried note in his voice.
Ortiz looked up. "Deceleration at 75 metres a second," he said, "and they're losing altitude."
"Range to ocean floor," Bridger said tensely.
"200 metres."
"Speed?"
Ortiz looked at his readouts. "It'll be quite a bump, but shouldn't do any damage to the shuttle."
Bridger nodded. "MR-5, switch to emergency power."
Static. Then, "It's not having any effect. It's like something's dragging us down." The worry had turned to panic.
Bridger leaned forward over the console. "Stay calm, Lieutenant. Brace for impact."
"100 metres," said Ortiz.
"Bracing."
Then, there was static. Ortiz looked up sharply. "Captain," he said. "The shuttle's disappeared!"
Bridger stared at him. "What do you mean, disappeared?"
Ortiz shook his head, staring at his console. "Like it was never there," he said.
Bizarre-shaped balloon animals for all my kind reviewers, Jan, Mar, pari106, ano, PhoenixTears80, Pheniox-Skye and sara.
Jan: thanks for the idea, I already had it planned out, but I always appreciate tips : ) ano: how could I forget you? I hope you're feeling better now
This one's a bit short. Sorry about that, guys...
Pro Patria Mori
Chapter 16
Braithwaite was woken by the beeping of his com. He sat up and activated the link. Simpson's voice came through.
"Sir, a UEO vessel is approaching the mine."
Braithwaite was on the bridge in minutes. "Range," he called to Halloran. The sensor chief looked up.
"Forty klicks, sir."
Braithwaite nodded. "Size?"
Halloran's face twisted in a grim smile. "It's the seaQuest, sir."
Braithwaite felt a smile of his own creeping onto his features. "So, they sent their best man," he said speculatively. "Time for a rematch."
"Shuttle MR-5, you are clear for launch."
Robert Bridger grinned as he flicked on the ignition. In the seat next to him, the pretty young ensign, Romero, looked nervous. It was her first mission. Robert smiled at her.
"Don't worry, Ensign. This is going to be a walk in the park."
He fired the thrusters and piloted the shuttle carefully out of seaQuest, as he had done hundreds of times before. Only this time it wasn't a drill: this time it was a real mission, and he was in charge.
He remembered Lucas' words, and for a moment his smile faded. Well, he would show him. He would show everyone. Once this mission was over, they would realise that he was a good soldier.
"Ensign," he said to his co-pilot, "in a few hours the UEO will have enough uranium to make us all glow in the dark for years."
The young ensign smiled.
Lucas sat by the side of the moon pool, rubbing Darwin's chin distractedly. The dolphins whistled and chattered. Lucas was almost glad the vocorder prototype still wasn't working. He didn't feel like talking.
A soft voice behind him startled him, though through force of habit he suppressed the emotion from his features. He turned and saw Dr. Westphalen. She smiled at him. "Without your constant companion today, I see."
Lucas looked up in surprise at the security guard. No, he was still there. He had been allowed to come out without further escort today by Ford; he wondered if the guy felt sorry for him.
"I meant Robert," Westphalen said. Lucas sighed.
"He's on a mission."
"I know," the doctor said kindly. "I heard that you had a fight about it."
Lucas didn't speak. He looked back down at Darwin.
Westphalen sat down by the side of the pool. "This is an odd situation, isn't it," she said reflectively. "You've barely known each other two months, and yet you're closer than many old friends. The really odd thing is," she looked at him pointedly, "that although he's so much older than you, you feel responsible for him."
Lucas' mouth twitched slightly.
"You have to let him try to prove himself," Westphalen continued. "I know, I know," she said when Lucas looked up sharply, "it's not about proving oneself. But it is for him. He's young, little more than a boy, really. He doesn't know what you know. But the only way he can learn is by finding out for himself."
Lucas shook his head. "This is not a game. What if he gets hurt?"
Westphalen smiled gently. "You know, this really is a simple mission," she said. "You don't think the captain would have sent him out there alone if it was dangerous, do you?" Lucas looked at her, unconvinced.
"I tell you what," the doctor said, "I'll tune my PAL to the bridge frequency. Then we'll be able to hear how things are going."
Lucas shook his head. "The captain won't allow it," he said tonelessly.
Westphalen grinned mischievously. "Well, I won't tell him if you won't," she said conspiratorially, and was rewarded with a look of gratitude.
"Sir, they've launched a shuttle," Halloran said from his console. Braithwaite looked up.
"Range?"
"500 metres."
"Weapons?"
Halloran checked his console. "Looks like it's pretty lightly armed. They're not even running in stealth mode."
Braithwaite shook his head. "Overconfident," he muttered. "They won't make that mistake again."
"Shuttle MR-5, you are cleared for docking at port 3," O'Neill said sounding slightly bored. Still, he reflected, bored was better than being in the middle of a dogfight. Last week he had been sure that they'd had it. But then, he was sure he was going to die about twice a day these days. He wished he were a little less timid, like Ortiz or Robert.
"Roger that. Preparing to dock," came Robert's voice, slightly crackly with static. There was a faint clank in the background, and a female voice could be heard saying "What was that?"
Hitchcock frowned slightly. "MR-5, please advise on your status."
"Sounds like something just hit us," Robert said. "Doesn't seem to have done any damage though."
Hitchcock nodded, satisfied. But then, a moment later, Robert's voice came again. "SeaQuest, this is MR-5. We're losing thrust, over."
Bridger looked up at Ortiz. The sensor chief nodded. "It's true. Deceleration at," he checked his console, "35 metres a second."
"MR-5, check to see if you have a fuel leak," Hitchcock said calmly.
There was a pause, then Robert's voice came back. "That's a negative. Fuel tanks are intact. Thrusters are at full, but we're still slowing down." There was a worried note in his voice.
Ortiz looked up. "Deceleration at 75 metres a second," he said, "and they're losing altitude."
"Range to ocean floor," Bridger said tensely.
"200 metres."
"Speed?"
Ortiz looked at his readouts. "It'll be quite a bump, but shouldn't do any damage to the shuttle."
Bridger nodded. "MR-5, switch to emergency power."
Static. Then, "It's not having any effect. It's like something's dragging us down." The worry had turned to panic.
Bridger leaned forward over the console. "Stay calm, Lieutenant. Brace for impact."
"100 metres," said Ortiz.
"Bracing."
Then, there was static. Ortiz looked up sharply. "Captain," he said. "The shuttle's disappeared!"
Bridger stared at him. "What do you mean, disappeared?"
Ortiz shook his head, staring at his console. "Like it was never there," he said.