"Ok, try it now." Tim O'Neill's pained whisper came from under his console.

Ortiz tapped a few buttons and smiled, "we have audio, that should hold us over for a few hours."

"Great." Tim settled onto the floor.

"You alright down there?"

There was a small groan. "Yeah, I'm just not moving for the rest of trip. Do you think some one would get me a pillow and a book?"

"Maybe you should head back to medbay, Tim."

"Why? I'll just have to come back here if there's a problem."

"Maybe because your chest looks like my grandmother's ceviche?"

"Ew... if you put it that way..."

The two friends heard the captain's voice ring out. "Are we up and running men?"

Tim slid from under the destroyed computer and accepted Miguel's hand up. "Yes, sir. Well, mostly. We have audio, but the vid control is too fried. I can fix it, but it will take hours and I don't believe we have the parts I need."

"Head back to medbay, Kristin said you only have an hour before she hunts us down. Ortiz can man the station." Nathan ordered, Tim nodded and gingerly headed to leave the bridge. Nathan stopped him, and extended his hand. "Good job, with this and before. You bought everyone enough time to get to safety before the seals were opened. I'll see about getting you recognized for that."

Tim blinked in shock before shaking it, "oh... well... um... that's really not necessary sir."

"You were injured going above and beyond the call of duty, it is very necessary." Nathan told him forcefully.

"Yes, sir." A blushed creeped up the communications officer's neck. The captain took pity on him and waved him off.

"Why don't we put a call into Pearl, Mr. Ortiz."

"Yes, sir..." Miguel paused and looked over his shoulder. "Um... sir, if I may..."

"You have a concern?"

Ortiz hesitated again, "sir, are you going to tell them where Lucas is? They may consider it a security risk if he's literately been everywhere in the systems. He may be pulled off the ship."

With a sigh, Nathan nodded. "I've already thought of that. For right now, we are just telling them we were hijacked and we have injured people. I'll figure something out after we're there."

"Yes, sir."


"We'll be at Pearl in an hour." Nathan informed Kristin, walking into medbay.

"Good to hear. I do hope the UEO gives us all some shore leave while they are repairing the ship. I think our frayed nerves need some rest." Kristin finished packing up the remaining supplies as she spoke.

Nathan looked around the room in mild surprise. Lucas was the only patient. "You send everyone to their rooms? Or was there a mass break out?"

"There wasn't really anything I could do for Ben, he didn't have any broken bones and it was to late for ice. He should have no problem picking up girls with his new temporary battle scar." She explained dryly. "Tim is resting, he said he would be more comfortable in his own quarters." Kristin pointed a finger at Nathan, "I don't want him doing any other repairs, he can attend the debriefing, but nothing else."

"Yes, ma'am." Nathan smirked. He crossed the room and carefully touched her face. "What about you? Are you going to rest your injury?" His face darkened as he took in the bruise.

"I heal fast." She put her hand over his and closed her eyes, allowing herself to nestle in his caress.

Nathan looked at her longingly for a moment before dropping his hand. "So... um... how's Lucas? And do you know where he is?"

Kristin sighed, "he and Jayde are talking in his room. I suspect he's showing off a bit for her." She shook her head. "I'm really not sure what to do for him."

"Is... is he brain dead?" Nathan flinched at the idea.

"No, his lower brain waves are all there and he's breathing on his own. It's like he's in a deep sleep, I just don't know how to wake him up."

Nathan stared at the brainweave's nodes, still attached to Lucas' forehead. "Are you going to take it off?"

Kristin wrinkled her face, "he won't let me. He believes its the ticket to him getting back. I can't say I disagree."

There was a chirping sound, and Nathan pulled out his PAL. "I never thought I'd be so happy to hear this dumb thing again. This is Bridger."

"Sir, we're being met by a shuttle, it's Admiral Noyce."

"Huh, Bill listened to me for once. Thank you Jonathan, I'll be in the docking bay."

"Yes, sir."


"You look like hell, Nathan." Bill pointed out.

"Well, good afternoon to you too." Nathan retorted. "I got off easy."

"Who else is hurt? And why does this have to be classified?"

Nathan tackled the first question as they started walking, "Ben and Tim are the worst off, other than Lucas. He is currently in a coma."

Bill's eyes opened wide. "A coma? What happened?"

"I'll explain that in medbay, it's somewhat complicated."

"So you said in your transmission." Bill stopped and gave a frustrated expression. "What happened to O'Neill and Krieg?"

"They both were injured trying to save lives. I damn well better see commendations for them after this." Nathan told him forcefully.

"Are we talking about the same Ben and Tim? What did they do?"

Nathan cast an annoyed expression at his old friend. "Well, let's see, Ben used his own body to shield Lucas' when a madman decided to play Russian roulette with him, and tried to protect Kristin when she was being handled roughly. Tim refused to stop a distraction, and even added to it, in order to help Katie get people to safety, and his console was shot to pieces until it exploded in his face." Nathan informed him smugly.

"Oh... Sometimes I forget how dedicated your people are to each other." Bill admitted.

Nathan nodded, "it still surprises me at times too."

"I'll see what I can do for them." The men walked silently for a few minutes before coming to a stop outside of Lucas' quarters. "He isn't in the medbay?"

"Yes, he is, but he's also in here at the moment." Bill looked at Nathan like he was under far to much stress. "I told you, it's complicated." Nathan knocked on the door.

Jayde opened it quickly, "Captain, did you need something?"

"Can you tell Lucas we need to speak to him in medbay? Kristin said he was here with you."

After a lingering gaze at Admiral Noyce, she nodded. "He'll be there, I'm sure he already knows you need him."

"Thank you Jayde, you can come too if you like, I'm sure Kristin will want to check on you again." Nathan smiled at the girl. The smile turned in a smirk when he caught the confused expression from Bill.

Bill held his questions in as the three walked together. He suspected Nathan knew he would have to, and shook his head ruefully.

"Admiral Noyce, thank you for joining us." Kristin said stiffly when they entered the medbay.

"Kristin, how are you?" Bill asked, seeing her face.

She smiled slightly, "I've been better, but I've also been much worse."

He nodded, "so are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

"I need your assurance that this will not reach the UEO brass first, Bill." Nathan told him pointedly.

"I can't guarantee that, but I'll do what I can." Bill promised.

Nathan walked to Lucas' bedside. "Lucas was sent a neural interface before the hijacking. It was some how programmed to overload when he was wearing it. Because he was on sea deck when it happened, he fell into the moon pool and was electrocuted worse than was intended."

Bill swallowed when he saw the burn marks around the device's nodes on the young face. Nathan continued, "it had some unforeseen consequences." He directed attention to the small vid-screen set up next to bed. "Lucas? Are you there?"

Yeah, captain I'm here. Hello Admiral.

"Who is that?" Bill was flickering his eyes from the screen to the body on the bed.

It's me, Admiral.

"It's Lucas," Kristin clarified.

Several emotions raced across Admiral Noyce's face before he could reply. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure." Nathan said laughing softly. Although the situation was still bad, he couldn't help finding the humor.

Bill was quiet for several seconds. "Ok, if you believe it, I will. So what do you need me for?"

"Lucas currently has access to every file on the ship, from the highest classifications to what we will eating tomorrow. I need to know that when we get him out, he won't be removed for security reasons." Nathan explained.

What we're eating is scarier than anything else I could find.

Nathan snorted, "he was able to shut down the warheads and basically controlled the entire ship. The UEO may think a teenager with that information is very dangerous."

"Is there anyway to write your report and leave that out?" Bill asked, understanding the problem finally.

"Are you telling me to leave out information?" Nathan responded with a raised eyebrow.

Bill shook his head, "not officially."

"I don't think we could explain all this without telling them." Jayde pointed out.

"I'll make some calls from my shuttle. Hopefully since he didn't do it intentionally, there will be some leeway given. But they'll probably want to change all your codes." Bill said thoughtfully. He inclined his head and waved before taking his leave.

Jayde waited until he was gone before speaking. "We have an idea to get Lucas back to his body."

"Why didn't you bring it up before?" Kristin asked in surprise.

We don't think the Admiral will like it. The screen informed her.

"Will it work?" Nathan asked.

I hope so.