Six Weeks Earlier

Bridger: Don't worry, Lucas. Next year's going to be great.
Lucas: What're we going to do?
Bridger: Well, first of all there's a small matter of building a new boat.

Lucas finished packing the few items of clothing he had picked up since losing everything in the destruction of seaQuest DSV two weeks earlier. He knew the calculated loss of the vessel had been necessary to close the river of lava that threatened to destroy the ecology of the ocean, but it was still hard to come to grips with the fact that he had nothing left. All his clothes, all his music, all his equipment - gone.

He crossed to the window of the hotel room and looked down at the beach. His only consolation was in the sight of the blue ocean, stretching to the horizon, teeming with life. Disaster for the oceans and therefore the planet had been averted.

A knock sounded on his door. "Lucas?" a voice called. "You ready?"

"Coming!" Lucas turned away from the window and grabbed his bag. He opened the door and saw Captain Bridger waiting in the hallway. Bridger was casually dressed in shorts and a Hawaiian-print shirt, carrying a duffel bag.

"Good morning," Bridger said cheerfully. "You ready to go?"

Lucas stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him. "I'm ready. But are you sure about this, Captain? I mean, I don't want you to feel like you have to invite me to stay with you just because Dad's doing emergency work on World Power. I can find somewhere to go."

Bridger felt a rush of sympathy at the uncertain look on Lucas's face and the hesitant tone of his voice. Lucas put on a brave front, but Bridger had been there on the beach when Lawrence Wolanczak's concern for his son had been diverted so quickly to discussions on saving the World Power project.

"I don't feel like I have to invite you to stay with me, Lucas." Bridger reached out a hand and clapped Lucas on the shoulder. "I want you to stay with me. I'm going to need your help in the seaQuest redesign. There's no one I can think of who would be of more help, and no one whose company I'd enjoy more."

Lucas flushed with pleasure. "Thanks, Captain."

Bridger put his arm around Lucas's shoulders and started down the hallway. "So let's get going, then. We've got a long trip ahead of us."

Bridger had invited Lucas to spend the next few months with him on his island in the Caribbean. He and Lucas both needed to get away - Bridger from the trauma of watching his life's dream, the seaQuest, crash and burn, and Lucas from yet another careless dismissal by his father. Bridger thought the time together would do them both good and give them a chance to brainstorm on some redesign ideas. He was looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with the teen who had become an important part of his life.

The taxi ride to Perth Airport was spent in amiable silence, broken occasionally by idle chatter. At the airport, they checked in and settled down in Terminal 1 to wait for their flight. It was going to be a long trip. Their plans were to fly from Perth to Sydney, then after an overnight layover, on to Atlanta. They would spend a few days there to break up the flight time before heading to Trinidad via Miami. From Trinidad, there would be an island hopper to another smaller island, then by boat to Bridger's Island.

"Did you talk to your father before we left?" Bridger asked, as they sipped soft drinks in the terminal.

"I tried," Lucas said glumly. "I called his office, but his secretary blew me off. Then I called his cell, but his assistant answered and said he was too tied up to talk to me."

Bridger reached over and patted his knee. "Don't take it too hard. He's under a lot of pressure right now. I wish you could have seen him when the Chief pulled him out of the World Power control center and brought him back to seaQuest. His first thoughts were of you; he was frantic to see you."

"Yeah, well, that lasted about two minutes," Lucas muttered.

Bridger grimaced. Unfortunately, that was about right. Once Lawrence Wolanczak had assured himself that Lucas was alive and unharmed, his attention had turned 100 percent to analyzing the failure of World Power.

"Just give things a little time to settle down," he suggested. "Maybe in a few weeks, he'll have more free time. Besides, you and I are going to be busy. We've got a ship to redesign!"

Lucas looked up and a reluctant smile spread across his face. "I've been doing some thinking. I've got some ideas about improving Darwin's access to more areas of the ship…"

As he became more animated with the enthusiastic presentation of his ideas, Bridger smiled. Yes, this was just what Lucas needed to keep him from dwelling on his father's lack of attention. He vowed to make these few months unforgettable for Lucas.

Bridger unlocked the hotel room door and trudged inside, with only one thought on his mind. Rest. He and Lucas had been going non-stop for three days in Atlanta and he was exhausted. He sat down on the sofa in their suite and let his head fall back.

Lucas bounded into the room behind him. "Captain, this was the best yet! I never knew how much fun amusement parks can be! I loved all the roller coasters!"

Lucas and Bridger had spent the day at Six Flags Over Georgia. Bridger had not been surprised to learn that Lucas had never been to an amusement park. His parents may have taken care of him physically and made sure his mind was stimulated, but his childhood had been sadly lacking in the fun things that most children experienced.

Many people had predicted that amusement parks would go the way of 2-D movie theaters as virtual reality advances let people experience rides that couldn't be built, but there remained enough of a core of true adrenaline-junkies and curiosity seekers to keep amusement parks open and thriving. For those visitors, no virtual reality, no matter how real it seemed, could compare to the true experience.

"Yes, I could tell," Bridger said drily. "I think I clued into how much you like roller coasters after our fifteenth time on Devastation."

Lucas grinned as he flung himself onto the sofa beside the Captain. "A hundred miles an hour, a 600-foot opening drop, four corkscrews, three double-helixes - what's not to like? This has been a great trip, Captain. Thanks for bringing me here."

Bridger smiled at the teen. "I'm glad you've had fun."

Bridger and Lucas had played the tourist game for three days now. In addition to the amusement park, they had taken in a major league baseball game, toured the global headquarters of Earth Cast News, visited the World of Coca-Cola, and seen the new Virtual Zoo. Lucas had even convinced Bridger to go to a concert by one of his favorite bands. Bridger couldn't honestly say he had enjoyed the music, but the company had been excellent.

Bridger yawned. "Are you going to be ready to hit the road bright and early tomorrow? We need to be at the airport at 6:00 am."

"Yeah, I'll be ready. It's been fun, but time to get to work, right?"

"A little work, a little play." Bridger ruffled the boy's hair. "We're still on vacation, remember?"

"Vacation is nice," Lucas said, yawning. "But a little goes a long way. I'm ready to get to work on the redesign."

Bridger had been amazed during the time he had known Lucas with the teen's capacity for work. His inquisitive mind couldn't be idle for too long. "OK, then. Let's get to bed. "

Lucas stood up and started across the room. Then he stopped and turned back to Bridger. "Captain, thanks again. I've never had this much fun in my whole life. I really do appreciate it."

"You're welcome, kiddo."