Chapter 16: "The Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune"

24 January 2024 – UEO seaQuest Sea Trials, Day 5

Katie's brain had desperately wanted to shut down after Tim's last report, but she knew that she could not allow it to. No matter how close a friend Jonathan Ford was—no matter how much danger he was taking his boat into—she had to remain focused on the task at hand. She was seaQuest's XO, and they were on sea trials. The safety of this boat and crew had to be her primary concern. To make matters worse, Captain Clayton was moving in her direction, and Captain Bridger was just standing there with an absurd smile on his face—

And then his words sank in.

"…We've got a distress call coming in," Jonathan said almost five years ago, staring at the navigation table and looking distracted.

"Why are you telling me?" the man dressed in cut-off shorts and a baggy denim shirt asked, but he was wearing a much more serious expression than he had when he'd told her that he was planning to take a tour of the Arizona Memorial.

"UEO regulations require me to inform the ranking officer on board of any emergency situations. That would be you, sir."

"What's the source of the call?"

"Gedrick Power Station. It's under attack. Aggressor unknown."

Déjà vu. Just like before, they were the only boat close by…or almost the only boat, anyway. And just like before, seaQuest was conducting sea trials—but this time, the boat wasn't returning from a mere refit. Now, the boat was brand new and not even half-tested, and the only reason they had any weapons on board was because they were scheduled to conduct live fire testing over the next two days. seaQuest wasn't even officially a warship, yet. Technically, she was a noncombatant that just happened to be owned by the Navy.

"Bearing to Alfin Ridge?" Bridger's voice was blasé enough that he might have been asking Tim O'Neill for a cup of coffee.

"Two-two-seven degrees true, sir."

The captain turned back towards Lucas, who still had the conn, his tone shifting to something softer. "Come right to course two-two-seven and come up to full."

"Right standard rudder, steady course two-two-seven," Lucas ordered, seemingly on automatic, but his eyes were huge. Katie didn't blame him for being worried. She certainly was. "All engines ahead full."

Bridger had passed the orders along like the course change was routine, and he now turned to the Chief of the Watch in the same manner. "Chief of the Watch, pass the word to secure from testing stations."

"Aye, sir." Katie was glad to see that she wasn't the only one looking at the captain like he was crazy, but the Chief of the Watch passed the word over the 1MC immediately, keeping whatever thoughts he had to himself.

She desperately wanted to ask the captain if he had finally gone off the deep end, if he really thought seaQuest could make a difference, especially when they weren't even sure they would be able to fire any of the torpedoes they had on board. But now wasn't the time or the place to question her CO, no matter how strange the situation was. She could only hope he could read the expression on her face, the one that shouted This is not one of your smarter moves!

Bridger certainly caught the look, because he shot her a slight smile in response before turning back to the helm. "Chief Carleton, take the conn," he ordered.

"Aye, sir," Carleton responded, moving over to relieve Lucas as Bridger wandered over to Katie's side. She was still standing by her own console, and the weapons console that formed the third in the 'command trio' of stations was currently unmanned, so at least their location offered them a small degree of privacy.

"Tell me what you're thinking, Katie," the captain said softly.

"I'm thinking that we don't even know if all of the kinks are out of the torpedo handling system, and I really don't think a combat situation is the best time to be testing that, sir," she replied, keeping her voice just as soft.

"You got a better idea?"

She sighed. "Not really."

"Me neither," Bridger admitted, leaning on the back of the chair he still hadn't sat in. What was it with him and that chair? "But I'm not about to leave eight thousand people to die, never mind those on Atlantis. Not while we can do something about it."

"And what happens if we find out we can't shoot back?"

The captain snorted. "Then we'd better hope that I bluff really well." He was smiling, though, just a little, and Katie couldn't deny the rush of adrenaline surging through her own system. She'd often dreamt of what it would be like to take this seaQuest into battle, even if she'd never expected it to be like this. "She's a good boat, Commander. Let's trust her a bit."

"I do trust her. But while you're busy hoping for the best, I plan on preparing for the worst," she said, trying to mask her own tension and only partially succeeding.

"So do I," he replied seriously. "We've got some time to make sure we're ready, and I expect to do just that."

"Captain Bridger, a moment, if you would—" Of course it was Clayton who thought this was a good time to intrude on a private conversation. Of course, he thinks any time is a good one to intrude where he's clearly not wanted.

Bridger held a hand up to forestall him. "Not now. Mr. O'Neill, what's the Macronesian ETA at Alfin Ridge?"

"They'll breach the twelve nautical mile limit in one hour, eleven minutes, Captain."

"Chief Carleton, let's crank her open a little bit. Come up to flank speed."

Katie thought she saw an excited glint enter the diving officer's eyes, and she knew how he felt. Although they had tested seaQuest all the way up to emergency power on the third day of trials, they had not stayed at high speed for very long, and now they were looking at a high speed run of over an hour.

"Aye, sir," Carleton replied with a suppressed smile.

"Take her deep, too. Bottom-following. I don't want anyone to know we're coming."

"Yes, sir."

The deck slanted as seaQuest dove, her speed picking up as she raced from a mere five hundred feet to over six thousand. Pulling up the electronic chart of their area of the Pacific, Katie could see that they would be able to stay that deep almost the entire way; although the water around Alfin Ridge averaged only about three thousand feet, that was because the colony itself was situated on the face of a ridgeline. Behind the colony, on the east side, the water was deeper, and the ridge would shield seaQuest from detection until she arrived and had to come up over it.

"You're not authorized to take this boat out of the testing area!" Clayton exploded into protest, and Bridger gave him a withering look.

"Not now," he repeated, reaching onto his own console and flipping on the Captain's 1MC switch. Moments later, his voice came out of every speaker on the submarine.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Captain," he said over the 1MC. "We have just received word that a number of Macronesian submarines have crossed into UEO territory. Their intentions are unknown, but their current course will take them to Alfin Ridge, a settlement just south of Johnston Atoll.

"It may be that the Macronesians have entered our waters by mistake. If so, we will give them every opportunity to leave peacefully. In case they have not, however, we are moving to intercept, and we will do everything within our power to stop them. Our ETA at Alfin Ridge is just over eighty-five minutes. We will go to battle stations half an hour out. In the meantime, do whatever you need to in order to prepare. Take a walk, grab some chow, or check your equipment. You'll know when the time comes.

"I know none of you expected for sea trials to turn out this way, but I have confidence in this boat, and more importantly, in each and every one of you. You were all chosen to be here because you are the best of the best, and today we will prove that. That is all."

Clayton was still glaring as Bridger flipped the switch to the off position. Bridger, however, ignored him and turned back to Katie.

"XO, do whatever testing you feel you need to do, but try to keep it as low-impact as possible. We'll light off every combat system once we go to GQ, anyway, and it's not likely we can fix stuff between now and then if it doesn't work," he pointed out.

"Yes, sir." Katie ran through a mental list of things that they could test in just under an hour. She wasn't used to being so prepared to go to GQ. Usually, it was something that happened suddenly, and there was only time to react, letting training and instinct take over. Then again, she wasn't used to boats that could cover this much ground in so little time, either.

"Feel free to work the contractors on board to death in the meantime, but once we're ten minutes out from Alfin Ridge, I want them on the mess decks and out of the way. No exceptions," Bridger continued. "Now, I'm going to get off the bridge and stop making everyone nervous." He raised his voice so that everyone else couldn't miss the next words. "That goes for the rest of you, as well. If you're on the Condition One watch team, I expect you to take a break so you're fresh when crunch time arrives."

Katie saw a few people exchange relieved–or possibly frightened—glances, but there was a smattering of yes, sirs as the captain left the bridge. Much to her relief, Clayton stormed out on his heels, leaving her to start making what preparations she could.

Jonathan could feel Atlantis trembling as his boat strained to reach Alfin Ridge before the Macronesians, pouring on every bit of speed she could muster and then some. Scavenger-class subs weren't the fastest in the UEO's arsenal, even if they were one of the newer classes. They had been built with peace in mind and had not ever been expected to need to reach the speeds of the newer Valiants. Atlantis was a good boat, though, and the class had proven themselves to be far more reliable in combat than anyone had expected, which was why Atlantis and her sisters were each scheduled to go into the yards for a comprehensive engineering overhaul over the next few months.

Not that a future overhaul will help us much now, Jonathan thought to himself. Currently, Atlantis could make almost sixty-five knots with every system red-lined, and the overhaul would nearly double that. Still, his current speed was enough to get him there in time.

Barely.

"Updated Macronesian ETA from SOSUS is forty-nine minutes. They've slowed slightly, Captain," Mark reported. As usual, the XO was manning the navigation and tracking party as they got ready to go into combat, and Jonathan felt no need to check the numbers if Mark had done them.

"Thank you," he said, forcing a breath out. He had a thirty minute lead on them, now, which had to be worth something. There weren't a lot of ways to lay an ambush with a Scavenger-class boat, but he was sure that he'd find one. He'd have to. There was no way he was going to let the Macronesians take Alfin Ridge without a fight, but Jonathan had no plans of dying uselessly, either.

Too bad I don't have mines on board. That would be really useful right now. But his boat had never been configured as a mine layer, so he'd have to rely upon stealth and sneakiness instead.

Atlantis was still too far away for the Macronesians to hear her, but the reverse was also true. SOSUS' immensely powerful array of hydrophones could still track the enemy, however, and Jonathan was relying upon them to pass information along. Once he reached the settlement, he'd go quiet and impersonate a hole in the water, and hope that the Macronesians were overconfident enough to run right by him and provide Atlantis with as many easy shots as she could get.

"Sir, I'm getting a call over Navy Red," Lieutenant Davenport, his communications officer, piped up suddenly.

"What do you have, Lieutenant?" he asked.

"It's from Scorpion, sir. They say they got our message and are moving to assist. ETA three-zero minutes."

Jonathan let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He might not always get along with Oliver Hudson, but he certainly wouldn't say no to his help right about now. Hell, he'd even be willing to hug the man, assuming they managed to see one another in person. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir." Poor Lucy looked terribly relieved—what was it about sharing peril with another submarine that always made people feel better? Two against fifteen wasn't much better than one against fifteen, but something was better than nothing.

Mark sidled up to him quietly. "What's the plan, boss?"

"Nothing complicated," Jonathan replied. "Get in close, go quiet, and let them run right over us until we can shoot every torpedo we have right up their rear ends. With Scorpion along, we even stand a decent chance of surviving the exchange."

"That's not something I was expecting half an hour ago," his XO admitted with a grin. "So, I'm not gonna argue."

"Me neither," he breathed, glancing over at the navigational display. Sixteen minutes to go, and they'd intercept the Macronesians' most likely course to Alfin Ridge, and then settle in for thirty minutes of waiting. Scorpion would get there fifteen minutes later, which would cut things rather close, but with the speed the Macronesians were traveling at, Jonathan didn't expect they'd be able to pick up Scorpion on sonar, either.

There are times I really wish this boat had WSKRs, he thought, trying not to grimace. But the bean counters think they're too expensive, so the best they'll give us is a towed sonar array, which is next to useless at high speeds. The only good thing about the restrictive technology level was that it was one the Macronesians seemed to share, so they wouldn't be able to hear the UEO boats any more than Atlantis and Scorpion could hear them. Not until they slowed down, anyway, by which point Jonathan intended to be well hidden.

The minutes ticked by without any further communication from Scorpion; Jonathan figured that Hudson wanted to get on scene before he started making decisions, which was much the same way Jonathan felt. Besides, they didn't exactly have a lot of options to pick from, so it wasn't like there was all that much to talk about, even if Hudson was senior to Jonathan by a few months.

Finally, Atlantis reached the intercept point and Jonathan gave the order to slow to five knots. The bottom was rather shallow here—just shy of three thousand feet—so he took his boat down as deep as he dared, keeping less than forty feet between the bottom of his keel and the ocean floor. Once there, they slowed even further, and settled in to wait. It was a struggle not to pace or hover behind any of his watchstanders, but ten minutes later, his patience started to bear fruit.

"Captain, I'm picking up the Macronesians on the towed array," his senior sonar operator reported. Miguel's relief wasn't as talented as Ortiz had been, but the chief was pretty damned good, so Jonathan had no complaints. "They're burning a hole in the water at about one hundred knots. Range… fifty thousand yards."

"Very well." Jonathan lowered himself into his chair slowly, resisting the urge to pace. Sometimes, the captain's job of remaining calm under pressure made him want to smash his face into a console—and he'd never liked waiting, either. Still, he'd been at the job long enough now to know how to at least look confident, even when the odds were this bad.

"I've also got Scorpion, bearing one-eight-seven. She's slowing to ten knots and closing the settlement at a range of three thousand yards."

I never thought I'd be so happy to see Oliver Hudson, but I guess pigs do fly, he thought with a slight smile.

"Scorpion Actual is calling, sir," Lucy told him.

"Put it on my screen."

But before the communications officer could comply, a familiar voice came out over the low band, and Jonathan's dark face went white.

Lucas had spent over a half an hour staring blankly at the Internex logo before deciding that he wasn't going to manage to lose himself in a computer game—not this time. Who needs to pretend to fight a war on the computer when there's a real one waiting for me? he thought. The games just aren't as fun anymore when they're mimicking reality. Besides, it's not like I've had time for games lately anyway.

He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had logged onto the Internex for something other than business. The last three months since he had returned to seaQuest felt like a giant blur, what with getting the boat ready, training, and now sea trials. Lucas had spent most of his personal time with friends during those months, and even then they were often talking about the boat. It was strange. After so long without seaQuest as a part of his life, having the boat suddenly back and larger than life should have felt strange, but did not. They'd all put so much time into her during the last few months, each trying in their own way to bring back the lives they'd led on board the first boat…and trying to build something new.

And now it's time to see if all that work will pay off. Lucas grimaced, turning on some music in an attempt to lighten his mood. But even listening to his favorite song did nothing for the sick feeling growing in his stomach.

Finally, he decided to head down to the moon pool on the sea deck and talk to Darwin. Minerva had stayed behind with Doctor Westphalen, but Darwin had insisted on going with seaQuest for sea trials, which meant Lucas' old friend would be there. Darwin was probably the only one on board not anxious about the coming engagement, so he figured that talking to the dolphin might calm his nerves.

He hadn't expected to find someone else doing the same thing. Lucas entered the moon pool area just in time to hear the vocorder translate Darwin's clicks and whistles. "Bridger scared?"

"Nah, not really," the captain replied with a smile, stroking Darwin's beak. "Just...thoughtful."

Lucas considered heading back to his room. While things had improved greatly between him and the captain over the last two months, he'd also become better aware of the line between a captain and his crew. It was something he hadn't thought about when he'd chosen to join the Navy, but the need to act professionally was something that Lucas had finally wrapped his mind around. However, before he could leave, the captain caught sight of him and waved him over cheerfully.

"Lucas! What brings you down here?"

He went over and greeted Darwin with a pat. "Trying to clear my head."

"I know the feeling," Bridger said feelingly. "Most people won't admit it, but everyone has their pre-combat ritual. One of my old XOs and I used to play a hand of poker before we went in, assuming we had any warning."

There were a million questions racing through Lucas' mind. Do you think we'll win? Do you think everything will work the way it's supposed to? Do you think Captain Ford will be okay? Is it okay to be scared? But he couldn't settle on just one to ask, and so he simply nodded to the captain's statement instead.

Bridger, however, seemed to read his expression. "It's all right to be scared, kiddo. This isn't quite like anything you've ever done before…and frankly, it's a hell of an introduction to combat for you. Hell, I wish we could have picked something a bit easier to start off with, myself."

"Like you said on the bridge, Captain, this is pretty similar to what happened with Westridge Farm back on the first seaQuest," Lucas said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "And there were plenty of times we were getting shot at. Or doing the shooting. Or having mass murderers running around the boat. Or terrorists..."

The captain only laughed softly, and suddenly Lucas felt very young. Is this really that different?

However, before Lucas could ask out loud, they were interrupted by his least favorite person. "Captain Bridger, you are not authorized to take this boat for a joy ride!" Captain Clayton snapped, storming into the space.

Bridger straightened from where he was still leaning over to pet Darwin, and Lucas could read resigned frustration in every movement he made. "Captain Clayton, did you have something you wanted to add to our conversation?"

The UEO inspector gave Lucas a disparaging look, one that clearly said Go away! When he spoke, his voice was an arrogant sneer.

"Why don't you excuse us, Lieutenant?"

Lucas glanced towards Captain Bridger. He was still walking on thin ice around Captain Clayton, but he'd be damned if he let himself get pushed around. But if Bridger wanted him to leave, he would go. Bridger was his captain. Clayton was just a jerk with delusions of grandeur.

"No, Lucas. Stay," Bridger's voice was hard, and he glared up at the taller captain. "First of all, Captain Clayton, you don't give orders on my boat. And what I am or am not authorized to do with seaQuest is no business of yours—in case you've forgotten, I am the senior officer on board, and I will react as necessary when faced with a situation my orders did not anticipate."

"This boat has not yet gained my approval, and as the UEO inspector conducting these sea trials, I do not authorize you to leave the testing area!" Clayton replied, practically bellowing.

"I don't give a damn what you've authorized," the captain retorted, his voice sharp. "And if you can't conduct yourself with a minimum of military courtesy, I'll have to ask you to confine yourself to the conference room."

He really does look like an overgrown walrus, Lucas couldn't help but think, especially as Captain Clayton stepped in close to Bridger, clearly trying to intimidate him. Unfortunately for Clayton, Lucas knew that the captain wasn't going to back down, no matter how much shorter he was than the giant walrus. And it really takes some talent to make the captain lose his temper like this, too. I don't think I've ever seen him so angry.

"You can't do that!" Clayton blustered.

"Can't I?" Bridger snapped. "Go check the lineal list, Captain, if you doubt my seniority. And while you're at it—"

Chris Schafer's voice cut the captain off before he could say more.

"Captain, Bridge. Sir, we're picking up a message on the low band. It's from the commander of the Macronesian fleet."

The captain's anger throttled down immediately, replaced by a look of intense concentration. Still, his voice was a tad sharp as he ordered: "Put in on."

Immediately, a vaguely familiar voice replaced Schafer's.

"…speaking to the citizens of Alfin Ridge. You are outnumbered and unable to resist us. If you surrender now, your transition to the Alliance of Macronesia will be simple and bloodless. But if you decide to oppose us, we will show you no mercy."

Lucas frowned, trying to figure out why the voice of the Macronesian officer sounded so familiar. This was the closest he'd come to having any interaction with the enemy confederation, aside from seeing news clips of President Bourne on the Internex. And that certainly wasn't him. Particularly since this voice was female.

"To the two UEO submarines in the vicinity of this settlement, leave the area immediately or be destroyed. This territory now belongs to Macronesia, and we are not willing to negotiate."

A moment passed, and then Schafer's voice came back. "That's it, sir. From what I can catch of the comms between the two subs, the other one is Scorpion, commanded by Captain Hudson."

"Thank you, Chris. What's our range to Alfin Ridge?" The captain's voice sounded normal, but there was something in his expression that Lucas could not read. Something unhappy.

"Commander Hitchcock here, Captain," a different voice answered. "We're still more than 145 nautical miles out. ETA thirty minutes."

"Set General Quarters."

"Yes, sir," the XO's voice replied, and a split second later, the sound of the traditional klaxon alarm filled the sub.

Even having expected the alarm, it took Lucas a long moment to process what it meant. In the past, he would have just stayed in the moon pool with Darwin or headed back to his room while the captain went to the bridge. But now he had a job and a battle station, and while they still had thirty minutes before things would probably go to hell, he had to be ready now. He fell into step with the Captain, heading towards the bridge.

"Captain?" Lucas asked, hoping he would still be willing to speak openly with him before they reached the bridge and had to be superior and subordinate, instead of friends.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?" he inquired quietly. "Aside from the obvious, I mean."

"I recognize that voice." And Bridger's tone sounded like it was coming from somewhere icy and cold. "So will a lot of the crew."

He searched his memories again, this time stretching them back to his first tour on seaQuest. Realization dawned with growing horror.

"Marilyn Stark," Lucas exhaled.

"Bingo."

A/N: Originally, this chapter was much longer, but we've now split it into two parts, the second of which will be Chapter 17: "First Contact." It's done and ready to post, so look for it within the next week, if not sooner! As always, we authors find reviews terribly motivating, so please do let us know what you think.