"Sir..." Kents started slowly. "We've lost nav again, we're dead in the water."
York turned to Tim, and the thin man raised his arm defensively. "I didn't do anything, and I can't even control navigation from here." York didn't look like he cared much and continued to advance on him.
Another of his men spoke up, "no... sir... I... I don't know how, but we don't have the weapons anymore."
"The warheads?"
"Everything is locked out sir." The man nervously eyed his boss.
York clenched his fists, shaking in rage. He pulled his radio from his belt and stabbed the button. "Pine! Is Bridger awake yet?"
"Yes, sir, a few minutes ago. He's pretty groggy but not fighting."
"Bring him here."
"Yes, sir."
Captain Bridger was allowed to walk on the bridge under his own power but was gently prodded with an assault rifle in his back. He didn't give a second look to the gore splashed across the floor from Hardwick, but lingered on O'Neill's battered face. "The UEO doesn't negotiate with terrorists." He said through clenched teeth.
"I don't care about the UEO, I'm only interested in what you'll do for me." York smirked at him.
"I'm UEO." Nathan reminded him.
York started shaking his head, "no, I don't believe you are, Captain. Maybe in name, but that is all. You've gone against their policies and even walked out of them. I think you are your own man... a man who cares about what may happen to his crew."
Nathan cleared his throat. "Yes, I do care what happens to them, but they understand that this is a military sub. Danger is always part of the job, they signed up for it. I won't negotiate either."
"I understand Captain Bridger." York smiled in a friendly fashion that didn't reach his cold grey eyes. "One moment please." He walked from the bridge and spoke into his radio before returning. "Why don't we wait for a few minutes and see if you change your mind?"
Ben couldn't remember the last time he sat quietly for so long. He was watching everything around him closely. When Tim was pulled away, he nearly stood and stopped them but rifle casually placed very close to his face stopped him. He didn't know why the lights blinked or why the alarm sounded, but neither did the armed men around him. And now, the ship wasn't moving at all. In his judgement, that could only be good for the SeaQuest's crew. The faint sound of the gun shot that echoed down the corridor unnerved him, but he kept trying to tell himself that if one of them had been killed, York would be on the com gloating about it. It didn't quite eliminate the thoughts from his head, but it helped.
There were angry shouts coming from the medbay, only about fifty feet away from Ben. His head turned sharply when he heard the very angry British voice cursing. That was a very rare sound on the ship. "Calm down Doc, no one can patch you up if you piss them off." He muttered under this breath. There was the unmistakable sound of a hand striking flesh and he was on his feet before he knew he was doing it.
"Get down." One of the guards patrolling the hall snapped, swinging his weapon around to him.
"What are you doing with Dr. Westphalen?"
The guard sneered back, "it doesn't matter, sit."
Ben took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. "No." He was only able to turn his head when the butt of the rifle slammed into his face, contacting with his chin and cheek. Ben fought to stay conscious and spat blood on the floor. He slumped against the wall for a moment, blinking away the stars. "At least you didn't break my nose." He pushed off the wall and lifted his jaw proudly. "Now, if you're done attacking unarmed civilians and cuffed men, I want to see what is going on with the Doc."
"Bring him with us." Chars called, coming from the medbay. "I'm not interested in carrying this vegetable anyway." He was dragging the limp body of Lucas by the shoulders. "We can let him." He dropped the teen to the floor and pointed. "Pick him up. Maybe if your hands are full, you'll be useful."
When Lucas' body hit the floor, Kristin rushed from the medbay to check him. "He's already injured, you didn't have to throw him around."
Chars snorted, "he's gone. The interface destroyed his brain. You just haven't accepted it yet."
Behind his back, Ben's hands tightened into fists. He could see Kristin's eye and cheek were starting to swell, it was obvious she had been punched or savagely slapped. Fury filled him and he tried to control it before he got himself killed. "I'll carry him. Uncuff me." After a nod from Chars, the other guard roughly spun Ben and clicked open the handcuffs. "Where are you taking them?"
"York wants them on the bridge. He needs some extra insurance." Chars informed him, laughing lightly. Ben only nodded and bent to pick up Lucas, the thin boy felt like nothing in his arms. He tried not to look at the burns around the nodes still on his forehead. After sighing in a frustrated fashion, he shot a look to Kristin and tried to warn her to stay calm with his eyes. She returned with own angry stare and walked in front of him, heading to the bridge.
Jayde waited until Chars left and peeked out of the medbay doors to check if anyone else was coming in. The guards in the hallway didn't see her and it seemed she had been forgotten. "Ok, time to earn your keep." She whispered to herself. Pulling up the mattress of one of the beds, she found the tranquilizer rifle Tim hid there. "Five darts, well that's a start." After slinging the gun over her shoulder, Jayde started search for anything else she could use.
A small bottle in the cabinet attracted her attention. "Methohexital, will that could be useful... oh... that's even better." She pulled out the two bottles and took several syringes as well. Jayde pulled a small pillow out of it's case and tossed the vials and needles inside, after thinking for a second, she also threw in several rolls of gauze. She double checked that her small knife was still in her pocket and tied the pillow case closed. She wrapped the knot around her belt and started to look for a way out. There was a small ventilation grate that seemed to go the direction of the moon pool. Prying with her fingernails, she was able to pop it off and crawled inside.
Soon, she was able to smell the salt water and knew her guess was correct. Jayde twisted herself around in the small air shaft to look into the room. There was one guard leaning against the tank lazily watching Darwin swim. He checked his gun and turned away from the dolphin.
Seeing her chance, Jayde pulled the small knife out and started to poke a larger hole in the mesh covering. After she judged it large enough, she slid the gun from her shoulder and pushed the barrel thought the hole. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed the trigger.
The guard jerked and spun around. He only saw Darwin floating there, watching him. "Did you just..." His eyes went out of focus and he dropped to the floor.
Jayde pushed the grate free and hurried across the room to swing the damaged door closed. It wouldn't keep anyone out, but no one would be able to see what was happening. She went back to the guard and pulled off his rifle. This, she hid under a desk. She wasn't a fan of guns and knew they were to noisy for the situation. After searching the man, she pulled out a pair of cuffs and slapped them on his wrists. Jayde struggled to pull him into the decompression chamber, covering him with a blanket. She shut the door and pressed an aptly named button that said, "Timed Lock down." It started counting down twelve hours.
"Well, that's one down." She said dryly. Darwin started to squeal at her and when she looked up, he was pushing on the vo-corder laying on the side of the tank. "It's broken, remember?" Jayde swallowed as the images of Lucas being shocked and falling in the water flashed through her mind. Darwin just squeaked louder at her. With an annoyed sigh, she went to the tank and tried to turn the yellow device on. "See? It's broken..." She trailed off when she heard the computer voice.
"Jayde? Are you ok? I can't see you where you are. Darwin told me he saw you on the sea deck."
"Uh... yeah? Who is this?"
"Lucas."
She shook her head and started to put the vo-corder down. "That isn't possible. Lucas is in a coma and they just brought him to the bridge."
"No, please listen. It really is me. I'm not sure how much I can explain now. My consciousness kinda got sucked into the ship's computer. I think it had to do with the mindweave."
Jayde snorted, "you really expect me to believe that?"
"You... you said I looked like a scientist... and Darwin just told me your arm is bleeding. What happened to it?"
She looked down at her arm in surprise, it was, in fact bleeding again. She tightened the bandage before replying. "Ok, so I think I believe you. What do we do?"
Nathan resolved himself to not react when he heard some one coming onto the bridge. But after seeing Kristin's face, followed by a very bloody Ben carrying Lucas, his resistance crumbled. "What did you do to them?" He asked quietly.
"She fought me when I was following orders." Chars said with a shrug. "And he's just argumentative. Your crew seems to have a hard time understanding they are not in charge of this situation."
York nodded and smiled coldly. "Maybe if their captain orders them cooperate, they will do so."
Tearing his eyes away from the three, Nathan actually laughed. "You picked these three to follow my orders? That was a mistake."
"No," York shook his head. "I picked the boy and the doctor because I know you are closest to these two. I could care less about the mule carrying Lucas." He cocked his head and casually pulled out his revolver, "why don't we play a little game?"
