Chapter Three
Yucatan Peninsula - Bridger's Island
The launch shuttles closed in on the island near the Yucatan Peninsula. The reconnaissance team had their orders - investigate the significant bioreadings that the UEO base in Pearl Harbor had been seeing the past few hours. Looking at the sensor data the shuttle was getting, Lieutenant Commander Robert Bridger knew something big was happening on that island. He highly doubted it was an animal population. A feeling in his stomach also told him it wasn't Macronesian forces either. ETA was less than 5 minutes, and he'd be getting the shock of the lifetime when he arrived.
"We are nearing the island, team. Have your weapons ready and be ready to leave the shuttle the minute we hit the beach," the Lieutenant Commander informed his team. He informed the ensign who had been piloting the shuttle to remain there and be prepared for anything. While Bridger didn't think there would be much danger there, he wasn't going to take any chances with his team's life. He radioed the other launch shuttles and gave them similar orders.
Darwin surfaced near the dock and started chattering, which drew Captain Bridger and Lucas's attention away from the gathering of people on the beach. They had been standing there discussing what could've happened to the SeaQuest and why wasn't she nearby. Captain Bridger told Lucas to grab the vocorder so they could find out what was going on. Lucas nodded and ran up the beach to grab the vocorder from the porch. As he ran, he thought to himself that he was glad he installed the system on Bridger's island while they stayed there during the rebuilding of the SeaQuest after Bridger sent the first one into a lake of magma caused by Lucas's father's attempt to give the world free power and detonating all her nuclear weapons. He quickly grabbed the vocorder and ran back down towards the beach.
"Darwin, what's going on?" Lucas asked after running up the dock, punching a few buttons on the vocorder. He just hoped the system was still working.
"Metal boats," Darwin told Lucas. Lucas and Captain Bridger exchanged looks as to what Darwin was meaning. Henderson and Ford were nearing the dock as Lucas pushed a few more buttons and asked Darwin where they were. "Underwater heading this way," Darwin said. It was Captain Bridger who first realized Darwin meant there were shuttles on approach, just as the first shuttle hit the beach.
Three launch shuttles hit the beach a few seconds later. Soldiers began to emerge from their shuttle, weapons drawn. Ford, Henderson, and a few others immediately pulled their own weapons and pointed them at the soldiers emerging from the launch shuttles. Lieutenant Commander Bridger was the first one out and suddenly realized they were seriously outnumbered here.
"Freeze! Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air! This is a private island in UEO territory and you are trespassing!" yelled Lieutenant Commander Bridger as he jumped out of the first shuttle the minute he hit the beach with his weapon drawn. Everyone that had been chattering between each other instead of paying attention to what Bridger, Lucas, Henderson, Ford, and a few others were doing and quickly quieted, looking at the men standing before them on the beach as they heard the announcement. "I am UEO Lieutenant Commander Robert Bridger!" A man who had been kneeled down on the dock turned towards him and began to walk towards the Lieutenant Commander. Lieutenant Commander Bridger couldn't believe what he was seeing. Could he have actually just found Captain Nathan Bridger - his very own father?
Captain Bridger at first couldn't believe his ears. 'Lieutenant Commander Robert Bridger?' he thought. Lucas, who had since walked up and stood near his captain, froze too hearing the name. Captain Bridger walked up to the commander and looked him over. Could this possibly be his son who was supposedly dead? "I own this island Lieutenant Commander, we are not trespassing here," Captain Bridger stated curtly.
Lucas looked between the Captain and Lieutenant Commander several times. He noticed the Lieutenant Commander did look a lot like the Captain. He knew that Captain Bridger never knew that Robert was dead for sure as there was never a body recovered, but was it even possible that the Captain's son wasn't dead after all these years?
"The late Captain Nathan Bridger of the SeaQuest owns this island," the Lieutenant Commander stated. He couldn't believe his eyes or his ears. He still wasn't sure if this was truly Nathan Bridger, his own father.
"I am Captain Nathan Bridger and as you can see, I am not dead. Now I'd like to know what you and your men are doing on my island?" Nathan was being cautious. Everyone was still confused from waking up back on Earth after the Hyperion war and he had to protect his crew. Although they only believe they were gone for a few days or weeks, they had no clue it was actually ten years later and the world believed everyone was dead.
"The UEO base in Pearl Harbor detected significant bioreadings on this island and we were sent to investigate the situation. Our last records state this island was abandoned with Captain Bridger being presumed dead after the disappearance of SeaQuest ten years ago," the Lieutenant Commander spoke with the man standing in front of him. He still couldn't let himself believe that this was truly his father.
Commander Ford walked up to the party when he heard what was said. "I am Commander Jonathan Ford, XO of the SeaQuest. What do you mean SeaQuest disappeared ten years ago?" Everyone grew even more quiet, waiting for an answer.
Lieutenant Commander Bridger couldn't believe it. Here stood both the Captain and XO of the SeaQuest. He looked around and recognized a few others he knew from the dossier of the crew that was onboard the SeaQuest at the time of her disappearance ten years ago. He now accepted the fact that they were indeed the missing crew of SeaQuest. "SeaQuest deviated from her course she'd been on for a day and headed for the Tonga Trench, then disappeared off all scanners and sensors. After a month of searching the oceans for the SeaQuest, UEO called of the search, declared the SeaQuest lost at sea and all hands aboard had perished. I cannot believe you guys are actually alive!"
The SeaQuest crew couldn't believe their ears. They had been missing for ten years and everyone thought they were dead. They begun to chatter amongst themselves again trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Lucas, naturally curious, spoke up before anyone else could say anything. He just had to ask the question screaming in his head. "You are Lieutenant Commander Robert Bridger? Are you Nathan Bridger's son?" Nathan looked at Lucas when Lucas finished asking the question and looked back at the man standing in front of him. He wasn't sure what to believe, but the man did look a lot like his son.
Lieutentant Commander Bridger looked at Lucas and then back to the captain. "Yes, my father is Captain Nathan Bridger, my mother was Carol Bridger." A huge smile showed up on Lucas's face. This man was indeed the captain's son. Lucas looked at Captain Bridger to see the look of shock on his captain's face. His own team were looking confused at the conversation ensuing between their leader and the few people standing in front of them.
"Robert?" Captain Bridger asked, looking at the man. He couldn't believe his ears. For a decade before they even disappeared, he believed Robert had been killed. That's what Norpac told him at least. "You're alive?"
The Lieutenant Commander kept a straight face. He knew he had a lot to explain about why the world thought he was dead, a lot of things he wasn't proud of. "Yes, father, I am," he said in a monotone voice. Everyone was dead quiet, listening to the conversation. "Now, I need to call this in. First of all," he said, then turned towards his men "Ensign, get the med team out here stat and have everyone looked over." The ensign standing behind him said yes sir and radioed for the shuttle carrying the med team to come to shore and began medical evaluation of the inhabitants of the island. The Lieutenant Commander excused himself and then turned around to head back into the shuttle he emerged from.
After he entered the shuttle, he told the ensign who had remained onboard to get him a secure vid-link to the UEO base in Pearl Harbor. He had to report to the UEO that he had found the SeaQuest crew. He still couldn't believe he had found them after all these years, much less had come face to face with his own father.
