A Question of Trust

Chapter 1

By Kiddo

In Loving Memory Of Jonathan Brandis

Disclaimer:

I don't have any rights to the TV show "seaQuest." I also don't own the different characters like Bridger, Lucas, or Darwin. I do, however, own my little Lucas Wolenczak action figure. ;-) I'm not making any money with this story; I'm just writing for my own pleasure.

I also don't have any rights to the book "The Gospel According To Larry," witten by Janet Tashjian.

Oliver Stevens, Bert Major, and the 5 scientists are products of my imagination.

As always, I have changed a few things from the show, so it's an AU. The story takes place during the first season and is a translation of my german story "Eine Frage Des Vertrauens."

A spezial „Thank You" goes to Jackie for beta-reading.

Here are a few quotes from the book "The Gospel According To Larry," by Janet Tashjian:

...Then I remembered my conversation with Flip-Off a few days ago about changing the world. And the light came on as if after a power failure – I was changing the world. A tiny bit at a time, of course, but still. I was out there, I was contributing...

...Change the world?

Did.

Are.

Can...

...Josh Swensen became Larry for one reason – to contribute to the world. He believed we as humans were an endangered species, that the predators who would lead to our demise were ourselves. He had a laser-like mind that focused on one thing – looking inside instead of outside ourselves for answers. He was right about a lot of things... He was a boy who swung on swings, who could do the Python's Silly Walk routine verbatim, who wanted nothing less of himself than to change the world.

...But was the whole thing worth losing myself over, even temporarily? I think it was. I'd made mistakes, of course: caring more about my message than about the people in my life. Next time out I'd try to find a better balance.

I could change the world.

I'd just start with me this time.

An easier or more difficult task?

The seaQuest was in open water, but the next morning, they would dock at the harbour, and the majority of the crew would leave to go on vacation. However, because of the fact that the science team of the seaQuest had an important experiment going, a few crew members had to stay and ship out later. This meant that five scientists, the whole senior crew, and Dr. Westphalen (as the sixth scientist and medical doctor) were staying behind.

Lt. Benjamin Krieg had been so kind as to take on the job of cook for the next few days. In doing that, he also wanted to prove to the others that something really delicious could be cooked in the galley. In Ben's opinion, which he also shared with a lot of other people, the regular cook had truly failed at doing that.

In the evening, there came a knock at the captain's door.

"Come in!"

The seaQuest's chief computer analyst stepped into the captain's cabin.

"Oh, hello Lucas."

"Good evening sir, do you have some time?"

Captain Bridger nodded and pointed to a free chair. "Of course. What can I do for you?"

The teenager was fidgety and nervous as he slid into the chair. "I wanted to ask...if I could stay on the boat during shore leave?"

Nathan was surprised. "Where is this coming from? Aren't you looking forward to a small vacation?" But when Bridger thought back over the past week, he realized that Lucas had been very quiet, not a typical quality for the normally energetic teenager. Like everyone else, the boy needed his time off, but a whole week was really not normal.

"Not really. I've tried to reach my parents many times in the last couple of days, but I haven't been able to." The blond boy smiled sadly. "I don't think it would be such a good idea if I just showed up on one of their doorsteps. To tell you the truth, I'm also not very anxious to see them. I really don't want to meet my mom's boyfriend, and if I go to see my father, I propably won't get to see him at all. Plus, where my dad lives is totally boring, just some old rich people, thats all, no one who's my age or even close to my age. And I also really don't want to spend my shore leave alone in a hotel."

Captain Bridger nodded in understanding. "I can imagine that. But, if you keep trying to avoid seeing your parents, your relationship will never get any better."

The youngest crew member of the seaQuest groaned. "That's not only my fault!"

"I didn't say it was. I haven't forgotten what you told me about your parents." Nathan looked thoughtfully at Lucas for a moment. "Have you given up on your wish to have a good relationship with your parents?"

The teenager looked down and played with a button on his shirt. "Yes... I've tried so hard and so often. It just won't work." He shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes, I just feel like I can't take it anymore. I'm not like a comedian; I can't act like nothing has happened and smile through everything. Something is totally wrong between me and my parents. I don't think there is any sense in thinking that things could to work out between us. Maybe there are some things on earth that just shouldn't be. Some tings are impossible."

The boy's words hit Nathan hard; the teen had given up. Bridger wished that Lucas and his parents had a different relationship. The teenager had told him a lot about his relationship with his parents in the past. The captain should have seen that the shore leave would be a problem for his young friend.

Only one time had he seen the young genius and his father together, the way they acted around each other. It had been at a conference where the presence of the seaQuest had been required.

Surprisingly, Dr. Wolenczak had found time to meet with Lucas and the captain at a restaurant and have dinner with them. The teenager had been totally against it from the beginning, but Bridger had insisted on getting to know Lucas' father, and he also thought that Dr. Wolenczak should know about the people his son was working and spending his time with.

The meal had been a spectacular disaster. The whole time, the atmosphere had been incredibly tense. Father and son had both tried to get along but without success. The whole thing had ended with each screaming loudly at the other and leaving in anger without saying goodbye.

Nathan had never seen Lucas act that way before; normally, the teenager hated arguments. The boy was one of the most peaceful people he had ever met. There were definitely a lot of things wrong between the young computer genius and his parents. And now, Lucas had given up. He was fed up with the arguments, being ignored, and being hurt. Sometimes, even the most optimistic person couldn't go on.

Nathan nodded. "You can stay."

The teenager smiled, relieved.

Bridger had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Maybe it's a good thing that you're staying here."

The young man looked questioningly at the captain. "Why?"

"Tomorrow my nephew will be coming to visit me for a few days." The young man nodded. The captain had told him about that some time ago. "I haven't seen him very often these past few years. It was different before. When Carol, Robert, and I lived near him and his parents, he visited us nearly every day. When we moved away, he still visited us every holiday. He's only a few years older than you, and with you here on the submarine, maybe he won't find it so boring. And besides that, you'll also have somebody closer to your age to talk to."

Lucas grinned. The captain was as excited about his nephew's visit as a little kid on his first day of school. "It would be really cool to have someone closer to my age on board to hang out with. Nothing against the crew, but as a teenager, you sometimes have other interests and things to talk about."

Nathan smiled. "I'm sure that you two will get along very well."

To Be Continued …

Written Spring 2003 / Translated Winter 2005