"So, what do you think?" asked Kowalski as he signalled the crane operator to bring the next load over to Seaview's loading hatch.
"Think about what?" questioned Pat.
"The new XO," Ski clarified.
"Put me down for twelve days," said Malone.
"What about you Pat? Are you in?" inquired Ski as he shifted his attention to his other friend.
"We haven't even met the man yet," Pat replied as he helped guide the cable holding the crate down the hatch.
Before either Ski or Malone could put their two cents in, Sharkey approached the group.
"A little less chit chat boys and a little more work there maybe," suggested the Chief, "how's Riley doing anyhow?"
"He's resting at home now. Doesn't know why he can't go surfing every day," answered Patterson.
"Figures; the kid gets stabbed, is off on sick leave and wants to spend his time surfing. He must be feeling better," commented the Chief, "and just what are you three going on about anyways?"
Malone spoke up first, "we're just trying to determine how long this new XO is going to last."
"Say Chief, what have you heard about him?" asked Patterson.
"The new guy? Well I was told he's highly qualified and will make an excellent addition to the crew."
"Ya, but what have you heard?" clarified Kowalski.
Sharkey leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice, "I heard that he's one of those Davenports."
Malone, Pat and Ski all had similar puzzled looks on their faces.
"The Davenports; you know, that rich family with a long line of service in the navy. Usually they all go on to hold office or some other important role in society."
Malone huffed, "great, so we have some spoiled rich kid for an officer. I want to change my bet to eight days."
Sharkey took on an authoritative demeanour and a serious voice, "you mean to tell me you boys are betting on how long our new executive officer is going to last?"
The three crewmen looked down at their shoes and nodded their heads slightly. Sharkey looked around to see who else was within hearing range.
"Put me down for sixteen days."
"Chief?" asked Kowalski.
"You heard me. Now get back to work you knuckleheads!"
The three crewmen just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Not wanting to press their luck they went back to the chore of loading the sub for their next mission.
Lieutenant Commander Lyndon Davenport passed through his second security check before driving to the main building at NIMR. It was his first day at the Institute and they were preparing for what would be his first mission aboard the legendary submarine. The preliminary mission brief was scheduled for ten o'clock which gave him a few hours to get settled into his new office.
The main lobby was like a ghost town. The only other person there was the cheery secretary that directed Davenport to main elevator and up to the sixth floor. The door to the elevator opened and Lyndon proceeded out carrying his box of office items.
Lyndon proceeded down the hall to Nelson's office. He entered the large outer office and cleared his throat to gain the attention of the brunette that was busy typing at her desk.
Ryan looked up at the newest NIMR employee, "you must be Commander Davenport."
"Lyndon," added the Lt. Cmdr. as he shifted the box to one arm and extended his other hand to greet the secretary.
"Ryan; Admiral Nelson's personal assistant."
Ryan hit the intercom button and waited for Nelson's reply. The intercom chirped to life and the Admiral's booming voice came through the speaker.
"Yes Ryan?"
"Commander Davenport has arrived sir."
"Take him to the exec's office and I will be there shortly."
Ryan got up and escorted the newest crewman to his new office down the hall. The office was devoid of all personal items as Lee had removed Chip's things weeks ago. Ryan opened the door, and Lyndon walked in and put his box on the barren desk.
Ryan spoke when Lyndon turned to face her, "if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. The break room is three doors down on your right and the washrooms are at the end of the hall to your left."
The young Lieutenant Commander nodded his understanding and went to work unpacking his belongings. The personal assistant shut the door behind her and went back to her desk located in the outer office of Nelson's office.
Lyndon opened the various drawers and found all the office essentials stacked in neat piles; even the paper clips were stacked according to size. The newest member of NIMR surveyed his surroundings and tried to get a feel for the man he was replacing. Organized neat freak came to mind. After accepting the position he had done some digging around to get a feel for the people Davenport was going to be working for; he knew he had some big shoes to fill.
The new exec finished storing his belongings, nowhere near in the same fashion that the previous occupant of the office had kept his things, and spun around in his chair. He no sooner completed the 360 degree turn than Admiral Nelson had entered the office.
"Managed to get yourself sorted here I see," commentated Nelson, trying his best to keep the smirk off his face at his newest acquisition's antics.
Trying to preserve an air of professionalism the young man answered, "Yes sir."
"Good. There will be a mission briefing at ten sharp in my office. After the meeting I'll have Chief Sharkey give you the grand tour of Seaview."
The Admiral left the exec's office and Lyndon glanced at the clock. He still had forty-five minutes until the meeting and decided to wander down to the cafeteria to grab a coffee.
The cafeteria was dead and Davenport had his pick of any table he wanted. He grabbed one near the door and dropped himself onto the hard plastic seat. On the table was the Institute newsletter detailing all the events and the less classified research that was being conducted. Lyndon flipped through it and casually skimmed over the article about crewman Somners welcoming a baby girl into the family, Trina from public relations celebrating her fortieth birthday and the annual Institute charity basketball game that weekend.
Lyndon's attention was diverted when a young lady rushed into the cafeteria carrying an arm load of files. In her haste one of the files slipped from her grasp and fell on the floor by Davenport's table. The young woman went up to the counter unaware that she had lost a piece of her precious cargo. The exec leaned over, and scooped up the file and then reached over to grab the one piece of paper that had floated away from the pile. He glanced at the paper finding it rather odd for a document like that to be moving around the Institute in such a casual manor but decided to shrug it off as he was not up to speed on Nelson's particular way of doing things yet.
Lyndon tucked the paper back in the file and walked over to its owner.
"I believe you dropped this," said Davenport as he handed the file back to the young lady.
She turned pale at the realization of her error and gladly accepted the file back.
"How careless of me; thank-you very much. I don't believe I know your name."
"Lyndon Davenport, I'm the new Executive Officer," he explained as he offered his hand.
"Michelle O'Brien, administrator of the science building. It's very nice to meet you."
"O'Brien, as in a relation to Tyler O'Brien?" asked Lyndon as the name rang a bell from the crew manifest he had been studying.
Michelle's eyes lit up and she shifted her stack of files so she could show off her wedding ring, "yes, that would be my husband. Now if you'll excuse I have to be somewhere," explained Michelle as she hurried down the hall.
Lyndon glanced at his watch and decided it was time to make his way to Nelson's office for the mission brief.
"This is a pretty important mission to try and break in a rookie isn't it?" shot Crane as he paced back and forth in front of the Admiral's desk.
"He's not a rookie, he has a lot of experience; and we're not rushing into anything without a complete crew compliment, so you better start getting use to the idea Lee," replied Nelson.
There was a lot riding on the next mission. Nelson desperately wanted to believe that Chip Morton was still alive somewhere, but he couldn't bring himself to get his hopes up. Crane believed enough for the both of them anyways. To find out it was all a ruse would be worse than losing the former exec in the first place. The older man didn't believe he had it in him to feel such a loss again; it would be hard enough to get Crane through it, if it turned out to be false.
The only reason the seasoned Admiral had kept it together so well this long was the Captain and the crew needed someone to be strong, to see them through this terrible turn of events. All that pressure was starting to weigh down on Nelson. To make matters worse the skipper was becoming more reckless and unfocused as the days went on. Sooner or later it would catch up to the Captain and Nelson was worried that without Chip, he would be unable to watch out for the young man all the time.
"You're wearing a hole in my floor Lee," commented the Admiral in a light conversational tone.
"He's late!" snapped Lee who had yet to sit down.
Raising his voice slightly Nelson replied, "he's not late; the meeting isn't scheduled to begin for fifteen more minutes. Now sit down Captain."
Lee got a far as standing directly behind his chair
"We don't need someone new for this mission; the crew is perfectly capable of completing this mission without this kind of complication," continued Crane.
"Either Davenport is on Seaview when we leave or I'll cancel the mission entirely Lee."
Crane's face fell and anger flashed in his eyes. They were going to recue Morton, the best executive officer, the only exec Seaview ever had and now his mentor was going to scrub the mission if some temporary replacement couldn't come along. Lee's fingers dug into the back of the chair and just before he unleashed his tirade on the Admiral, Nelson raised his hand to silence the young Captain.
"You're not thinking clearly Lee. You're blinded by the possibility that Chip maybe alive that you're not seeing the possible dangers."
"Just because I'm the only one that cares if Chip is alive doesn't mean . . .!" ranted Lee before Nelson cut him off.
"You're not the only one that cares about Chip!" shouted Nelson as he slammed his hands on the desk, "but someone has to be objective about this and right now it's certainly not you. I want nothing more than to find Morton alive and well but the reality is, and I know you don't want to hear it, the reality is he's dead and this is a trap. Getting yourself killed won't bring him back Lee."
The last words hung in the air as both men starred at each other. Any further arguments or apologies were put on hold with a knock on the door.
Upon hearing the Admiral beckon his entrance Lyndon entered the office with ten minutes to spare until the start of the meeting. The tension in the room was not lost on the newest crew member as he took the last available seat by Nelson's desk.
The highlights of the upcoming mission included taking the sub to the edge of international waters then using the Flying Sub to covertly enter the waters of the People's Republic. From there Crane, Davenport and two other crewmen would make their way to the coordinates Malcolm estimated the fake sensor was tested at, while the Admiral managed Seaview. If successful they would discover the secret lab that had been used to create the sensor and was more than likely the site in which this new enemy was trying to recreate the weapon system not to mention where Morton was being held.
Through the whole meeting Crane sat there and tapped his pencil as Nelson went over the specifics. Lee knew the Admiral's earlier statement had been correct but he couldn't keep his mind focused on the task at hand; the skipper found it difficult to listen to seismic activity in the area when all he wanted to think about was rescuing his friend.
When the meeting was complete Crane got out of his seat and promptly left the office. A feeling of claustrophobia was suffocating him and he just needed to get away from everyone for a few moments.
The truth was Lee wouldn't let himself believe the message was a trap. If it was a trap then Chip truly was dead and he had indeed failed his best friend; but if Chip was alive then there was a chance to be redeemed for the decision he made.
Crane had talked with Jamie but the doctor was too understanding and supportive. Drinking had only offered temporary absolution that quickly vanished in the morning and he didn't want to burden his mother with his problems. Crane wanted to talk to the Admiral but every time he thought about what he would say it always sounded like he regretted the decision he made which meant that he regretted saving Nelson. Nothing was further from the truth, but Lee felt he would only hurt his friend's feelings if he tried to explain it to him.
Lee watched Davenport make his way out to the dock from his office window. He knew he was being unfair to the man; it wasn't his fault that Chip had died and he had been asked to fill the position. Crane couldn't help but feel that Lyndon was the enemy and befriending him, making his job easier was a betrayal of Chip's memory.