Thankyou to everyone for reviewing. It's always a buzz to see something in the inbox. I got the boring audit stuff finished so gave myself a reward and spent some time writing. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter Four

As Lucas looked out at the underbelly of the colony from inside the Stinger he could see signs of aging. Commonplace technology that would have kept sealife from attaching itself to the frame obviously wasn't in use there as barnacles covered most of what he could see. He wasn't sure what he had expected when he first came, but a lot of things about Hope Colony seemed incongruous to him. He had wondered several times if it was just his age, but there were things he just couldn't reconcile.

The day the seaQuest had docked was a day he would never forget. Bridger had given him some idea of what to expect, but the fact that the colony was so closed off to the outside world meant that a lot of it was really just educated guesses.

"It will be a chance for you to explore an environment you've never been exposed to before."

The captain made it sound like an adventure, but Lucas couldn't stop a sarcastic response. "You mean one without running water and cooking food over campfires?"

"No, actually I'm pretty sure they eat their meat raw!"

"Ha ha!"

"Lucas if you really don't want to do this I can still pull the plug." Bridger hoped he wouldn't back out now as they were at the colony's doorstep, but Lucas didn't disappoint him.

"Just don't complain if I look like a caveman when you come back to pick me up."

With that mental image in mind, Bridger had clapped him on the shoulder before breaking out into a smile. The docking hatch had opened and they had stepped out into the unknown.

Micah shifted a little in his sleep and Lucas looked down to see that his thumb was still in his mouth. He remembered his first sight of the little redhead and smiled slightly.

"Welcome aboard, Captain, Lucas. I'm very glad you decided to take up our challenge." Samuel Aroro stepped forward as they emerged from the docking hatch and extended a hand of welcome. The captain reached out to shake his hand, but Lucas was already looking around and missed it. Captain Bridger nudged him slightly and Lucas quickly reached for the man's hand and shook it. He looked at the man he had only briefly spoken with over a commlink and began to size him up. A little under six feet, with the pale skin common to those who lived under the water. His hair was beginning to show tinges of grey at the temples but he exuded an air of confidence and openness.

"He could pass for a submariner," Lucas thought to himself.

"Please, come this way and we will get you settled in your quarters before anything else."

Lucas hefted his duffel bag further onto his shoulder and picked up his electronic gear before following the captain and Samuel down a narrow corridor. He thought it was odd that there weren't many people around, but he would later come to understand why.

Bridger was asking something about water reclamation, but Lucas wasn't really listening to their conversation. He was too busy looking around as they walked and he began to lag behind. The colony was like something out of a history book. He could see equipment that he had only ever seen in museums or textbooks and his curiosity was getting the better of him. He had a hundred questions of his own, but was too fascinated to even know where to start.

He stopped to look at an air pump and was surprised to catch movement out of the corner of his eye. He briefly thought that maybe somebody was following them, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

"Come on, Lucas!" Bridger called from the far end of the corridor. "We don't want to lose you already." The two men had paused for him to catch up and he hurried off to where they were waiting.

As they continued down another maze of corridors he glanced back to see that somebody really was following them. A small mop of reddish hair ducked back behind a bulkhead and Lucas pretended he hadn't seen it. They finally reached his quarters and Samuel held the door open for him.

"I'm sorry it isn't very big, but we don't have much use for guest quarters here."

Lucas just nodded as he entered the room he could only describe as a box, with a bunk in the corner.

"It's fine," he smiled. "I will never complain about anything on seaQuest again!" he thought to himself.

Bridger paced across the floor of the wardroom, impatiently waiting for the call to connect. Finally a face appeared that looked no older than twelve or thirteen.

"I must be getting old!" he muttered to himself.

The child looked at him with curiosity before being unceremoniously shoved aside by someone else.

"Get off my vidlink!" Nick moved into the seat and waved absently at the screen. "Hey, yeah sorry 'bout that but he just likes … Captain! Uh sorry. I'm ahh … just trying to get some newbies settled here and this one thinks he can move into my room!"

He turned aside to speak to somebody off camera. "Get out of my space!" He threw something across the room that Bridger couldn't see but he heard it clatter against the door. "And stay out!"

The captain would have laughed under other circumstances, but right now he didn't time have to waste on teenage nonsense.

Finally Nick returned to the viewscreen. "So, Captain Bridger, what can I do for you?" The man on the other side of the link did not look happy and his mind was racing with possibilities if he was going to have to come up with some cover story for Lucas.

"Have you spoken with Lucas lately?"

"Is that some kind of trick question? A trap?" He hesitated before answering and it was as though Bridger had read his mind.

"Nick, I'm not asking if you know where he is if that's what you are wondering. I need to know if you have spoken with him in the last couple of days. It's important."

The tone of voice loaned credibility to the words and Nick realized his friend wasn't in trouble for going AWOL, but something definitely wasn't right. "He emailed me about going to Hope Colony, but that was last week. Why? What's wrong?"

Bridger rubbed a hand over his face and looked back at the screen. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. Just please, if Lucas contacts you, will you please let me know as soon as possible?"

"Is he all right?"

The fact that the captain didn't answer immediately told him all he needed to know. His friend was in trouble and for some reason the seaQuest didn't know what was going on.

"At this stage … I honestly don't know. Please, call me if you hear anything."

"Sure, and the same goes for you. I wanna know that he's OK."

Bridger just nodded before cutting the communication. He glanced at his watch and frowned. Still nearly six hours to go before they reached Hope Colony.

Lucas had the radio set to scan all frequencies and snippets of radio chatter drifted through to the Stinger. It was clear the guards had been told he was responsible for Samuel's murder and it wasn't unreasonable that they were chasing him with such passion.

Samuel had been in charge of Hope Colony for over nine years, although he had lived there for nearly twenty eight years. His parents were among the founders and their mindset and ethos was entrenched in everything he did. From his earliest days he had been taught that people needed to live from the fruit of their own labours and not rely on others to provide for them. By working together with others, they could each provide a skill set that completed their communal needs. The kibbutz culture of Israel had been inspiration for many of their ideas, despite the fact that they didn't exist anymore.

Lucas had kept a close eye on his scanners and radio. So far it seemed that the vessels that had gone out after him had fallen for his trick and had continued to search out past the colony. He decided he had waited long enough and it was time to clear the area. It was easy to drop the Stinger down to the seabed and he hoped to avoid detection by crawling along the bottom. Finding his way through the rocky ravines of the sea floor would be tricky enough, but actually plotting any kind of course would be enormously difficult.

Micah didn't move as the Stinger began its descent and Lucas guessed he was thoroughly exhausted. Emotional fatigue on top of physical stress was enough to knock anybody around, let alone a small, frightened boy.

"What am I gonna do with you?" Lucas whispered over his head. He frowned as he wondered what would become of the child.

From the first day on the colony Micah had been intently interested in the stranger who had arrived unexpectedly in his home. After dumping Lucas' gear in his quarters, Samuel had invited both Lucas and the captain to share a meal in his quarters. The seaQuest was due to leave fairly soon, but Bridger wanted to make sure Lucas was settled and at least acquainted with a few people before he left.

All the way there Lucas was certain they were being shadowed, but he gave no indication that he had noticed anything. It wasn't until they arrived and Samuel paused to open the door that Lucas realised he knew his son was there all along.

Samuel looked back down the corridor past them both. "Micah! You can come out now and greet our visitors!"

Bridger looked over at Lucas and tried not to smile.

"You saw him too?" he whispered to the captain.

"Well he's got a bit to learn about the art of stealth."

Samuel just looked at both of them apologetically. "I'm sorry, but we have been reading some of my old story books and he currently thinks he is a big game hunter!"

"My son, Robert, thought he was Captain Ahab. The dolphins around our pier were fair game as far as he was concerned."

Samuel looked back at Bridger and smiled. He had heard a lot about the captain of the seaQuest and had been hesitant to involve the UEO in their affairs. But here was a man who also had a son and knew what it was like to encourage their imaginative play. Maybe they weren't so different after all.

While they were talking, a small boy had approached the group, looking rather sheepish at having been caught out. His father scooped him up into his arms and ruffled his hair and the child smiled a little more confidently.

"This is my son, Micah. This, is Captain Bridger and Lucas." Before either could say anything to him he buried his face in his father's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but he isn't used to strangers. We don't get many visitors here."

Lucas was suddenly jolted out of his reverie by another radio contact. He couldn't be sure of one of the voices, but he knew the other one. It was Mark Pederson, the colony's security chief.

"Any sign of him?"

"No, Sir. He seems to have outrun us."

"I don't know what the top speed of that thing of his is, but he didn't get much of a start on you. And I have some more bad news to report. We've found Micah. I'm sorry to tell you all, but he's dead."

Lucas stared at the console, thinking maybe he had misheard the man's words. The angry replies that came back just confirmed it though.

"What the hell!" He unconsciously pulled Micah a little closer and the child fidgeted in his sleep before settling back again.

The earlier radio calls had said they didn't know if Lucas had Micah or not, but now they were clearly lying. As he wondered what they hoped to achieve by that it didn't take long for his answer to come back.

"Don't bother to try and apprehend him. Daniel has said you can blast him out of the water. The UEO will try to get him out of our hands, but justice will be served! As we decide; not the almighty UEO!"

Pederson stepped back from the radio and looked over at Daniel. The man had just signed his own nephew's death warrant, but there wasn't a trace of emotion on his face.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Samuel was a fool! I tried to reason with him, but he just wouldn't listen. It's his fault Micah will die too, not mine!"