A/N: Happy New Year. I wanted to quickly add another chapter before I run off to ring in the new year with my family. It's a little shorter. I didn't have time to edit it as well so I hope you can forgive the SPAG. Plenty more to come. Thanks for all the reviews. I'm sorry if I haven't personally responded to you. I cant access all your reviews yet. I can only see 8 reviews but the count says 15. Honestly, I'm very honoured that you are reading along. I hope you are enjoying reading it. HAPPY NEW YEAR and GOD BLESS! (Updated at 11:30pm...fixed a few of my mistakes)

Wardroom

SeaQuest

Nathan grimaced at the stench permeating the room. Vomit splattered the carpet and the wall by the door. He had narrowly managed to miss stepping in it. Neither teen appeared to know where it had come from. Nathan's stomach lurched both from the smell and his suspicions that it belonged to Lucas. What had Clemens done to him? He quickly assessed the injuries of the teenagers. Julianna's face was badly bruised, and she had a large lump on the back of her head. Nick had managed to help stop the bleeding of the girl's split lip. Nick proceeded to explain all he knew about events leading up to Lucas and him coming aboard SeaQuest. Julianna calmed down enough to share how Clemens had grabbed her, forcing her to go with him. Nathan attempted to make a call but cursed his phone when he saw he had no service again. He hesitated to use the computer for fear Clemens had rigged something to warn him. Clemens knew Lucas was smart, and he would have done what he could to prevent the kid from getting a message out. Nathan felt some comfort knowing Ortiz was onboard. Chief Ortiz had a great deal of ingenuity.

"Listen you two. Once I leave this room, I want you to lock this door. Do not open it for anyone. Understand?" commanded the captain sternly. Both teens nodded compliantly. Neither one of them wished to do anything to get in the way. "Nick, that door in the back is a restroom. Find what you need to help make that stench bearable." Nick nodded solemnly.

"Please find him, Captain Bridger," murmured Julianna, blinking back more tears. Nathan patted her cheek tenderly.

"I will, Julianna," assured Nathan, managing a confident smile. Nathan carefully opened the door, peered out into the hallway cautiously and left the room. Nick looked at Julianna nervously before locking the door. Julianna hid her face in her hands trying not to collapse in tears again. Nick walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.

It's gonna be ok, Julianna," whispered Nick, hoping his words would convince himself as well as the girl. "C'mon, let's try to get rid of that stink."

Hallway on A-deck

"Where is the bridge?" snapped Clemens, growing impatient of wandering up and down corridors. The boat seemed massive in size and every corridor looked exactly the same as the next.

"We need to take the mag-lev," replied Lucas."But it's not operational currently. I need to activate it." Clemens squinted at him with uncertainty.

"What is it?"

"It's an elevator of sorts, only it runs horizontally." Clemens looked skeptical. He had very little knowledge of SeaQuest's designs. He had tried his damnedest to hack into it, but it was worse than Fort Knots. The best he had been able to do was hack private UEO codes to send a message to SeaQuest which got him Lucas in the first place. Clemens shoved Lucas against the wall of the sub harshly, putting his hand around his throat. Lucas' eyes widened fearfully as he glared at the large black man.

"Are you telling me the truth?" he demanded. Lucas blinked back tears frantically clawing at his throat. "I swear to God if you are lying to me, I will snap your neck like a twig," hissed Clemens menacingly. He slowly released his grip, and Lucas gasped for air. "Activate it!" he ordered pulling Lucas away from the wall and shoving him forward. Lucas stumbled losing his footing and fell hard to the floor of the sub. His eyes caught a glimpse of something around the corner. He took a double look, taking his time to stand. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Ortiz. The man put his finger to his lips.

"Get up!" shouted Clemens pulling him up by the scruff of his shirt. Lucas glanced again, and Ortiz was gone. He wasn't even sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. He shook his head to clear it and looked at the doors around him. He needed a computer, but he wasn't sure which room he could access. Most of the rooms where high security clearance rooms with pass codes he didn't know. Generally, he only entered rooms with the crew. He didn't have the security clearance of the senior crew. He kept walking until he saw Conference Room One. He tried the door with Clemens shoving him from behind. The room was locked. He tried several codes but none of them worked.

"Stop shoving me already! I don't know the codes to every friggen room on this boat you know!" snapped Lucas, pulling at his arm to free himself. Clemens groaned and shoved him towards the next door.

"Try this one!" he demanded. Lucas tried it with no luck. He was searching his head, trying to think of a place that he could access the main computer. Suddenly, he remembered that Captain Bridger had full access to the computer in his quarters, and Lucas had his security badge still. All he would have to do is insert the card into the computer, and it would think he was Captain Bridger. Lucas knew the access code to Captain Bridger's room. The captain had given it to him a long time ago so he could find a private place to be alone. None of the crew knew that when he disappeared, he was often taking refuge there.

"I know one computer I can access on this deck." Clemens glowered at him but remained quiet. Lucas began making his way down the corridor. Clemens again felt like he was walking a maze following the kid. Every hallway resembled the next. He hated being at the mercy of the annoying teenager, but he had no choice but to follow.

Hallway on A-deck

Miguel crouched low around the corner following Lucas as best as possible without being seen. He was trying to speculate what the kid was thinking. He knew Lucas had briefly caught a glimpse of him, but Miguel could tell the teen was terrified and not thinking clearly. Faintly in the distance, he could hear footsteps. They were very faint, but Miguel knew they were there. Someone else was coming up behind him. His military training had taught him to be extremely astute. He had to constantly aware of everything in his surroundings. He knew where he had left Nick and Julianna, and he swore if they had disobeyed him, he would cuff both of them. He didn't care about ethics at the moment. Ortiz continued listening, not daring to move a muscle. He needed to be sure what he was dealing with before he could continue after Lucas. He made himself as small as possible and held his breath as the footsteps grew closer. The person was alone and exceptionally quiet which told him it wasn't one of teenagers. Miguel felt his heartbeat in his own ears as he waited vigilantly, his body tense in expectation. He was unarmed and felt defenceless. He leaned his head back as much as possible and held his breath as the person rounded the corridor. He risked a glimpse and stifled a gasp when he saw Captain Bridger enter the corridor with caution.

Nathan startled slightly seeing his sensor chief crouched on the floor defensively. Ortiz rose to his feet quickly and nodded at him. Nathan clapped him on the back, greeting him.

"Seen Lucas?" whispered Nathan.

"Clemens has him at gunpoint. Lucas led him right down the corridor. He's trying to get access to a computer to activate the mag-lev. Clemens wants on the bridge for some reason."

"Lucas can't activate the mag-lev from just any computer. He doesn't have clearance," commented Nathan, trying to figure out what Lucas would do. He was a smart, resourceful kid to say the least, but Nathan had no idea what the kid was thinking. He wasn't even sure of Lucas was thinking straight or if he was hurt.

"Was he hurt?"

"He looked pretty rough. Cap. Clemens wasn't being gentle. Lucas was giving him a hard time," replied Ortiz, remembering Lucas' split lip and bruised face. Nathan smirked slightly. Lucas wasn't one to back down from anyone. He was a tough kid. Even if he was scared, he still would put up a fight if he could.

"Okay, let's split up. You move towards the Bridge. Lucas must have Clemens believing he can only access it by the mag-lev. Get inside and lock it down. Code Alpha 62 niner Beta 428." Ortiz raised an eyebrow in bewilderment at the code. He'd never heard that code used before not even at the academy.

"Captain," questioned Ortiz.

"Just do it, Mr Ortiz. Don't try to access anyone on the outside. I can't be sure that Clemens hasn't hacked it, and I don't want him thinking Lucas is doing it. I'm gonna access the computer in my ready room. I can get a secure transmission out from there." Nathan pulled two PALs from his pocket and a side arm. He handed Ortiz the weapon and a PAL. Ortiz nodded and took off stealthily down the corridor.

Bridger's Quarters

Lucas inputted the code to open the Captains quarters and entered the room. He felt his knees go weak when he was hit with the familiar scent of the captain. Clemens shut the door behind them surveying the room.

"Captains quarters huh?" He shook his head in amusement. He kept the gun on Lucas as he walked around the room picking various items up curiously. Lucas scowled at the invasion but walked to the computer. He inserted Captain Bridger's security card in the computer and typed in the circuitry ID number. Instantly the hologram of Professor Martinson appeared. Clemens jumped back, startled by the image the older man.

"What can I do for you, Lucas," replied the image, apparently recognising the teen. Clemens walked forward waving his hand through the hologram in awe.

"What the hell is that?" he asked, nearly forgetting he had a gun pointed at Lucas.

"It's a program Captain Bridger created."

"What's it for?" demanded Clemens. Lucas stubbornly remained quiet, refusing to divulge anything. Clemens pointed the gun at his head harshly, his hand trembling.

"I said, what's it for?" Lucas groaned, swallowing nervously.

"I-It was created to be a sounding board for the captain in times of moral or ethical dilemma. It also can control certain aspects of the main computer," stammered Lucas, staring at the hologram.

"Incredible," whispered Clemens, in awe of the impressive program. He caught himself staring and pointed the gun at it impatiently. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get that elevator thing working." Lucas cringed outwardly in spite of himself and began typing codes into the computer.

"Can you activate Mag-lev while in dry dock?" asked Lucas.

"Yes, I can," stated the hologram.

"Ok, do it. Activate it with access to the bridge."

"The bridge is locked down. Access code required." Lucas narrowed his eyes, perplexed at the response. He should have been able to access the bridge from this computer.

"What's the code?" inquired Lucas.

"I cannot process the code," came the reply from the hologram. Lucas frowned in confusion. Clemens glared at him. Lucas shrugged, inputting more codes.

"Activate the bridge," Lucas repeated.

"I cannot. The data does not compute."

"What's that mean?" he hissed. Lucas shrugged his shoulders. He was completely baffled. He punched some codes in hoping to figure out how to bypass the problem but to no avail.

"I don't know," replied Lucas. "I should be able to access the bridge from here, but I can't. The computer doesn't recognize the coding." Clemens shoved the teen aside roughly and punching in his own codes that he knew. Each time the screen flashed 'no access'. Clemens pounded the side of the desk irately.

"Dammit," he shouted. He grabbed Lucas by the scruff of the neck and rammed him up against the wall furiously. "What did you do?" he hissed.

"Nothing," screamed Lucas. "It's blocked by an old code. I've never seen that screen before. It must be something old from Captain Bridger's time…a safe guard or something." Clemens shook him harshly and rammed him against the wall again. Lucas cried out in pain. "I'm telling the truth,' he stammered.

"Take me to the Bridge NOW!" demanded Clemens. He shoved Lucas towards the door sending him sprawling onto the floor helplessly. Lucas awkwardly stumbled to his feet as Clemens continued shoving him out the door in a fit of rage. Lucas squeezed his fists together several times, his mouth dry and his hands cold from fear. He was beginning to understand that he likely wasn't going to get off SeaQuest alive. There was no way he was going to be able to hack his way onto the Bridge. Even if he did, that odd code had locked the boat down. SeaQuest was dead. He wouldn't be able to launch it. He shivered knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Clemens of that.