Thankyou for your kind reviews. It's always a buzz to open the inbox and see your comments. Well we are currently sweltering under a heatwave and since I can't stay in the pool all day the only way to stop from melting completely is to stay inside. The poor air-con is struggling since it hasn't cooled off, even at night and it's too hot to sleep. The one upside is I get time to sit and write. Even if I am sticking to the chair! Or sliding off it.
Chapter Eleven
Kristin sat at her desk and began to write up her clinical notes. She was only part way into it when she looked up to see Commander Ford entering the medbay. He looked tired, but then she wondered how long he had been on duty. As he headed for her office she stood up to talk to him. He tried to smile as he approached, but she had been a physician for long enough to know that particular smile masked fear. She sighed as she knew she couldn't do much to really allay that fear.
"Jonathan, I was just writing up my notes before coming to report to you."
"It's fine. So, how did the surgery go?"
"How about we go and see him while we talk?"
He just nodded, but quickly moved to follow her further into the medbay.
"We were able to remove the bullet fragments and thankfully they didn't hit anything vital, but going that long without treatment has left him open to infection."
They quietly approached the bed and he could see that Lucas was still hooked up to an IV. A nurse was gently sponging his face, arms and torso while carefully avoiding the bandage swathed around his waist.
"He lost a lot of blood and we are still transfusing him." Kristin pointed to the second clear bag. "We are also treating him with very strong antibiotics to counter the infection."
"He's going to be all right though?" The question came out as more of a statement, as if he could make it so just by saying it.
Kristin nodded slowly and he looked at her with alarm. That wasn't the definite answer he was looking for.
"What?"
"He's in bad shape, Jonathan. It's been years since I treated an actual gunshot wound. Newer weapons are more efficient at killing, but ironically when they just wound someone they actually often cauterize the wound. Unless they go right through, older projectile weapons leave bullets or metal fragments inside the victim. I have no idea how old their ammunition is, but this bullet virtually splintered on impact. Aside from blood loss, that causes even more problems."
Jonathan looked back down at Lucas' face and again noted the flushed features. His hair, so often the subject of good-natured teasing was now plastered to his scalp. Even as he slept his body was still shivering.
Kristin pointed to the monitor keeping track of his vital signs. "His BP is still erratic and his heart rate is still too fast, but the real concern is his temperature. We are trying to get it down, but he isn't co-operating yet."
Ford smiled slightly at her explanation. Lucas was well known for being stubborn when he wanted to be. He just hoped that this time that stubbornness would work in his favour.
Lieutenant Jansen ushered his charges out of the shuttle and reported them in. As he had been directed already, he started off towards medbay with the small group in tow. He glanced over at the small child clinging onto the teenage girl. He hadn't said a word since they left Node 3. Everybody on the seaQuest knew about the claims against Lucas, but not all of them were privy to details about Micah. Jansen had been briefed before leaving to collect him and knew all about what the child had been through. He thought about his own two young nieces and shuddered at the thought of anything so awful happening to them.
As the group arrived in the medbay, Jansen could see Commander Ford standing off to one side talking with Doctor Westphalen. They both turned as the group entered and Kristin hurried to pull a curtain across in front of a bay.
"Lieutenant, any problems?"
"Nothing at all, Sir."
"Good."
Ford turned toward the teenagers and forced on a smile. "Nick, Julianna, good to see you both again. I just wish it was under better circumstances."
They both nodded and Julianna stepped forward towards the doctor. Micah was still clinging to her neck and refused to lift his face.
"Is he all right?" The fear was written across her face for all to see.
Kristin smiled brightly. "He will be. He's tougher than most people give him credit for."
Julianna could hear the forced optimism, but didn't care. Sometimes it's just enough to be told what you need to hear. For the moment, she was prepared to accept that answer, as it was better than the alternative.
"Um, this is Micah. I haven't been able to get him to eat since he arrived. Otherwise he seems to be all right. I mean, physically at least."
Kristin just nodded and looked sympathetically at the child in her arms. "Do you suppose you could help me do a quick checkup? He seems to trust you."
Ford started to head for the door with Jansen only a step behind him. "We'll leave you to it, Doctor."
Kristin had already begun to head for another exam table and just nodded in response. With nothing better to do than stand in the middle of the room, Nick followed them over to the table. He kept glancing towards the curtain across the room, but figured he'd have to wait until Micah was out of sight before he could check on his friend. The kid had seen far too much already.
It only took a few minutes once they had left medbay for Ford to get all the mission details from Jansen. According to the security staff at the Node and Nick's own monitoring, nobody from the colony had thought to try looking there for Micah. He dismissed the lieutenant and began to stride down the corridor towards the bridge.
Even though their information was still patchy, he was beginning to formulate a theory as to why Lucas had left the safety of the Node and tried to return to the colony. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that Lucas wasn't trying to find the seaQuest and had, in fact, deliberately gone back to the colony. He urgently needed to speak with the captain about his theory, but surprisingly, O'Neill still hadn't called him to say he was able to get in contact.
As he was wondering about what was taking so long, he hurried through the clam doors just in time to hear the tail end of a transmission.
"What was that?" he asked.
Hitchcock turned to face him, her face a mask of worry. "I'm sorry, I was just about to call you. That was Ben and he said that Captain Bridger is missing."
"Missing?"
"And apparently so is Daniel Aroro."
Ford felt his stomach clench in a knot. "And the rest of our people?"
Katie nodded with relief, "All accounted for. They are currently co-ordinating a search with the colony's chief of security."
"What's our ETA for the colony?"
"About twenty five minutes."
Ford looked around at the faces nearest him. He could see each one of them was thinking along the same lines he was.
"Captain Bridger can handle himself." He spoke the words with authority, hoping nothing slipped through in his voice.
Katie just nodded obligingly as he spoke. It wasn't that she doubted the captain, but what kind of person could murder his own brother and order the "accidental" death of his nephew?
"We know that, Jonathan, but if Aroro really did kill his brother and he thinks the net is closing, that makes him a pretty desperate man."
"Captain Bridger can handle himself."
Nobody spoke, but each of them was acutely aware of the time still needed to get them back to the colony.
"Get me through to Crocker. I want to know everything that's going on there."
"Aye, Sir." O'Neill pulled his headset back up and dialed in his PAL frequency.
Bridger found himself sitting across from what had, until recently been Samuel Aroro's desk. It had only taken a few minutes for them to reach the office, but Daniel had seemed agitated all the way there. The captain was wondering what sort of evidence had turned up to bring on this change of heart, but had decided to allow Daniel to tell him in his own fashion. After all, it had only been a matter of days since he had seen his brother murdered and been handed the reins, almost by default.
As he sat now and watched, the other man was frantically searching through a computer. Maybe he was looking for something to corroborate the evidence, but the look on his face was growing increasingly angry. From behind the screen Bridger couldn't make out what he was doing and Daniel's muttered comments weren't helping clarify anything.
Finally the captain decided he had been patient long enough and he moved forward in his chair before clearing his throat. Before he had a chance to speak, his PAL began to beep. As he was reaching into his pocket Daniel suddenly sprang out of his seat.
"Don't answer that!"
"What?"
It only took seconds, but somehow Daniel had a pistol raised and aimed squarely at his chest. "I said, don't answer that." The growl behind the words was a clear enough threat without the added emphasis of a weapon.
Bridger slowly spread his hands to show he wasn't moving for his PAL. "What the hell are you doing? You said you had evidence that backed our story … unless … of course …" he shook his head as realisation dawned on him. "You! You're the one who falsified the evidence. But that would mean … that you …"
"That I killed Samuel. Exactly, so don't doubt me when I say I'm quite prepared to kill you too!"
The captain looked at the man before him with barely restrained anger. "And it was you who ordered for Lucas to be shot too!"
"Now, Captain, that sidearm of yours. Slowly remove it and put it on the table." He waved the pistol for further menace, but it was unnecessary.
Bridger slowly reached out to unclip his holster and slid his only weapon onto the table. Daniel quickly grabbed for it and slipped it inside his belt, behind his back.
"So, now what? You shoot me too?" The captain stared at his captor, but the other man refused to make eye contact.
"That wasn't my plan, but don't misunderstand me. I will do whatever I have to. Now get up." He waved the pistol again and pointed towards the door.
Bridger slowly stood up and waited for his moment as Daniel stood up behind him. Without warning, he shot out a foot and kicked the man in the shin before elbowing him sharply in the ribs. As Daniel grunted in pain he began to drop to the floor before grabbing at one of the chairs. It toppled over under his grasp and he pitched forward, momentarily caught off balance. Bridger started for the weapon tucked in his belt, but Daniel kicked out viciously and tripped the older man. The captain crashed headfirst to the ground, knocking over a metal stand on the way down.
He was momentarily dazed by the impact, but quickly shook it off. As he twisted sideways to get back on his feet, Daniel pointed the pistol and fired off two rounds. One ricocheted off the metal and scorched a path across the floor. Bridger froze where he was as he could see the other bullet lodged in the wall only inches above his head.
"Get up!" The pistol tracked his movements as he slowly stood up again. "I've got twenty years on you so don't bother trying that again. I still need you or else you'd be dead right now. Don't over-estimate my patience though. Try anything like that again and I won't miss the next time."
Bridger touched the side of his face and felt blood trickling down from his forehead. He glared at the other man, but kept his mouth shut as he was waved out of the room.
The trio of seaQuest officers stood to one side as the gathering crowd listened to Thomas and Harold. The two men had somehow managed to get word out that the colony was under threat and it looked as though everybody had just downed tools and rushed to the town square.
"We don't have time to be standing here," Ben growled under his breath.
He felt a hand on his forearm and looked across to see Crocker shaking his head at him. "Take it easy. We need these people to help us find him."
Ben knew he was right, but he felt like they were taking too long to get out and start looking. If Aroro was in the frame of mind they assumed he was then the captain was in serious danger and the longer they waited, the worse it got.
Crocker pointed towards where Mark Pederson was sitting. "Don't let that one out of your sight. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him."
Miguel nodded. "I get the impression he's trying to save himself here. As the head of security he had to be in on it with Daniel. Either that, or he's extremely stupid."
"Doesn't strike me as being stupid," Crocker agreed. "We still need to find out what's going on here. What kind of trouble did Lucas stumble into?"
Ben nodded at him. "Katie said Ford was sending a couple of shuttles out west of here to check out something odd."
"Did she elaborate at all?"
"Nope. I guess my news that Captain Bridger was missing kind of overshadowed that."
Daniel certainly knew his way around the colony and Bridger guessed he could have done it with his eyes shut. As they trekked down an obviously rarely used corridor he tried to take note of where they were going, but soon realised he could not have found his way back.
Deciding he had nothing to lose, he ventured a question. "Where are we going?"
Daniel just growled at him without actually answering.
"So are my people going to find my corpse dumped somewhere in a back alley? Not exactly original."
"Shut up! You're my insurance out of here, that's all."
"You see, that's what I don't understand about all this. Why are you so hell-bent on leaving and what was stopping you from going in the first place? Why resort to murder?"
Bridger knew he was pushing his luck but he also figured the best chance he had was to catch Daniel off guard and hope for the best. Waiting for his crew to find out where he was seemed like it could take too long for them to be of any help.
Julianna watched as Nick came back. He looked scared but was obviously trying to put on a brave face. For her or for Micah she couldn't quite tell, but either way she could see right through it. He wasn't prepared to speak in front of Micah so she would just have to wait to see Lucas for herself.
Micah had reluctantly allowed Doctor Westphalen to examine him and Julianna had stayed there to keep him calm. The whole time Kristin kept up a running chatter that Micah didn't once respond to, but the warm, motherly tone seemed to ease some of the tension in his body. Once she was satisfied that he wasn't injured in any way she turned her attention to his other needs.
Taking a small amount of his skin between her fingers she gently squeezed it. She frowned slightly but said nothing. It seemed that she was weighing options but Julianna had no idea what they were.
"Well he won't die of starvation but he is very dehydrated. I'll be back in a moment."
By the time she returned with an IV, Micah had almost fallen asleep. Kristin looked at the small child and could barely hold back her thoughts. He didn't fight as she gently inserted the needle and by the time she had hung the bag and turned back he really had faded out.
She reached out to smooth his hair before draping a blanket over him. "I imagine he will sleep for a while if you want to go," she whispered to Julianna. She watched as the teenager seemed reluctant to get up from beside the bed. "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on him."
Julianna still didn't move and Kristin realised it wasn't just concern for Micah that was making her stay put. She was scared of what she would find across the medbay. Kristin walked around the bed and laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Don't torture yourself by wondering. Come and see him."
Finally Julianna nodded and stood up. Nick reached out a hand to grab hers as he gently pulled her forward. Across the room, the curtain had been pulled around, mainly to protect Micah from seeing anything more that he would have to cope with. Now that he was asleep the curtain was eased back and Julianna could see Lucas for the first time.
Her free hand was over her mouth and she swallowed back the tears that threatened. Somebody had made a mistake. This wasn't Lucas! Her Lucas was full of life. Not hooked up to monitors that bleeped information she couldn't understand. Her Lucas would look at her with a cheeky grin and make her laugh. He wasn't groaning in pain with a deep furrow etched into his forehead. Her Lucas would reach out tentatively and hold her hand. Not be clutching a handful of bed sheet and twisting it in torment.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and realised that Nick was still standing behind her. She had nowhere to run to and immediately felt ashamed of herself for wanting to run. Instead she forced her jelly legs to move forward towards the bed. A nurse was still sponging cooling liquid over his torso. It didn't seem to be making much difference. She could feel the heat radiating off his body as she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. As she stood up again, she reached out to brush the hair from his face and wasn't surprised at how damp his skin felt beneath her hand. Doctor Westphalen was talking with the nurse on the other side in a hushed tone but neither Julianna nor Nick could mistake the worried look passing between them.