Admiral Nelson had studied the problem from every angle. After all, they had to have some ideas about how to approach this thing before they set out hunting for it again… So, she hid herself in shadows, manipulated her victims' minds, and drank blood. How to avoid the shadows problem, and make her completely visible and thus vulnerable to attack was a fairly easy problem to solve. He modified one of their flashlights to throw out a more powerful beam, washing the shadows out of every corner of the lab. If it could do that in here, then it wouldn't have any trouble in most of the areas on the boat. He modified as many as he could, so that their search parties could have at least two men each equipped with the more powerful lights. Now, how to shield minds from her manipulation? The last thing he needed was to have men succumb to her suggestions only to get themselves killed. Briggs had gone to her, and Briggs had died… He wouldn't lose another man.

But he was forced to admit that there wasn't time to develop something that would work. He needed to test it and retest it, and revise it, and test it yet again… He needed to implement safeguards that would keep his men from succumbing to any side effects of whatever he came up with. There just wasn't time for that; and Nelson wasn't going to use his men as human guinea pigs.

So on to the blood drinking thing… But he wasn't sure how to prevent that either... If there were something he could arm his men with, something that would be sure to repel her. But he wasn't about to suggest garlic or crucifixes. That would be descending into the realm of the ridiculous. He was a firm believer in the power of faith, but crucifixes to repel an attack? He shook his head.

A memory swam up from the dark pool of his thoughts, and Nelson cocked his head, contemplating it. He wasn't a fan of lurid literature, but he had read Bram Stoker's Dracula... As he recalled, a vampire was staked or beheaded, in order to destroy it. He shook his head at the thought. Beheading made them as bad as terrorists. He wouldn't do that. A stake was a primitive weapon. Surely there was something they could use that was more humane and more effective? He began to ponder what that could be...

His intercom squealed, interrupting his thoughts. With a snarl, Nelson picked up the microphone. "Nelson."

"Dr. McKenzie's missing, sir. I'm taking a group of men to search Deck A." Chip's voice, haggard and hoarse. Clearly unhappy about the situation. Undoubtedly felt it was his fault. Nelson couldn't worry about that now.

"Wait. I have something I want you to test for me when you get down to A deck." He grabbed the modified flashlights. "How long has Will been missing? Do you have some reason to think he's on A deck?"

As good a guess as any, of course, and maybe better than most. There were plenty of places to hide on A deck. But it had been thoroughly searched hours earlier... No guarantee that she wasn't there now, of course. "Where are you?"

"At the aft ladder on B deck, sir."

Probably wanting to hang up the microphone and get down to the deck below. He had that impatient note in his voice. Nelson growled into the microphone again. "Wait. I'll meet you there. Do not go down to A deck without me." The order in his voice was unmistakable. He didn't wait to see if Chip responded. He knew the XO would. Instead, he tossed the microphone down and swung out the door, flashlights in hand, trying not to be anxious about Will. It wouldn't solve the problem; he needed to get on with the searching.

Where was Lee? Probably in his cabin at this hour. Nelson stopped to knock on the cabin door, and waited impatiently for a response. Nothing. With a frown, Nelson called the captain's name. "Lee? Lee, get out here! We have a situation!"

Nothing… Nelson's heart quickened. Lee was missing, too. Where had he gone? Had Chip notified him as well? That made the most sense. The admiral stepped away from the door, and headed aft. His brisk walk turned into a jog, and then into a run. Something was wrong on his boat, and it involved his best friends.

She's a danger, Harry. You need to find Will fast.

John's voice, but the urgency was as real as his racing heartbeat. If they couldn't get there in time, Will was dead. He wasn't about to lose another friend as he'd lost John…

He rounded a corner and saw Lee ahead of him, arguing with Chip at the head of the ladder. Relief made him slow down and approach them with a little more dignity. "Here." He handed flashlights to the two of them and looked around with a frown. "Where is your party of men?"

"On their way, but we can't afford to wait." Chip grabbed a flashlight and started down the ladder. Lee also took a flashlight, shooting a speaking glance at Nelson, and started down after Chip.

Nelson sighed. That look had told him everything he needed to know. His command team had been arguing over each other's level of involvement in this. Chip's position would be that the captain shouldn't risk himself when there were others who could do the job. Lee's position would be that Chip's head injury – no matter how mild it might be – meant that he shouldn't be placing himself or others at risk…

One thing was sure: like or not, Chip was right. They couldn't afford to wait. Will was in danger… Nelson had to stop to wrap his head around that. Will had the safest position on the boat. Other than the odd emergency dive, he generally stayed out of trouble; his job was to take care of the ones who couldn't or wouldn't avoid that trouble. Nelson cursed under his breath. This creature who had invaded them had highlighted a problem with security he had never thought of… How to guard against things that weren't tangible, weren't foreseeable, and were completely incredible. Vampires? Had did he guard the boat and the men against something like that? Bad enough that it literally drank blood. Even worse that it was apparently female… The last thing they needed was another female predator. They'd dealt with one of those in the past and bested her, but Dr. Pope had left her mark. If she'd had her way, they would have lost a man; there was no way he'd bend to this… this bloodsucker, if he hadn't bent to Dr. Pope. They would get Will back safely…

He went down the ladder after his command team. They hadn't bothered to wait for him; clearly they had a plan of sorts, for they were already at the door to the bilge room, each moving to opposite sides without a word spoken. Chip drew the sidearm the admiral had given him earlier, in Sick Bay. None of them really thought that bullets would bring her down, but they might have enough kick to knock her back long enough for them to find some other way to deal with her. They glanced at the admiral as he came up with them, and slid in behind Lee. He nodded, knowing that whatever plan they had it would be the best they could come up with at short notice.

With a deep breath, Lee twirled the wheel and pulled the door open. Chip darted inside, pistol at the ready. Almost before Lee and the admiral dodged around the door, they heard a shot. As they leaped inside, Nelson saw the woman, illuminated in the bright halo of Lee's flashlight, staggering back, her face a mask of surprise. A hole had opened in her chest, but it didn't seem to faze her. The shot had knocked her backwards, away from Will, who was seated on the floor by the moon pool, dazed but aware. Blood stained his uniform and leaked from a terrible wound on his throat. Nelson swung his own flashlight into play, chasing away the shadows in the room.

The woman – if she was a woman – streaked toward Will, her movement almost a blur under the glare of the lights, but Chip didn't hesitate to fire again. The bullet struck true, shoving her back, and this time, Nelson had time to reach his friend and place himself as a shield in front of the injured doctor.

The woman shrieked at them, a piercing scream that echoed in Nelson's head, indescribable pain. He didn't back down, but he was grateful for the third shot that silenced her, though it didn't slow her down…

"Lee, we need something sharp!" he called to his captain, and saw Lee immediately reach into his pocket. Out came his dive knife, a handsome titanium alloy with a razor-sharp edge. It wasn't long enough to allow him to get her without moving in close… Nelson held his breath as Lee angled around to one side of her, trying to approach without being seen…

But she noticed him anyway, and flew at him, her fingers curved into claws that raked across his face. Lee stumbled back from the force of the attack, and Chip's gun spoke again, sending her reeling.

He felt Will trying to rise, and crouched down beside him. "Don't move, Will. We need to take care of her before we can get you out of here."

"Don't let her bite you…" Will held his hand against his neck, clearly trying to stem the flow of blood. If he had expected his words to surprise Nelson, he was probably confused that they didn't. Will had been in the dark about this thing. Now everyone knew what she was capable of.

"I know… I know, Will. Just take it easy." He reached out, pressing his hand over Will's, adding to the pressure. They had to get the bleeding stopped. He wasn't going to lose another man to this fiend. He wasn't going to lose another friend…

Watch out… John's voice, calling a warning. Nelson rose smoothly to his feet, isolating the woman in the glare of his flashlight. She snarled at him, but didn't try to come any closer. Instead, she eyed Lee, clearly resenting him… Why? It wasn't just because of the knife in his hand. There were centuries of hate in her eyes…

Then she reached out toward the bilge pump; the equipment had shed a shadow opposite the glare of the flashlights, and she snatched it in her fingers, spinning it around herself, until he could no longer see her. He swung his light, looking for her, disturbed at her sudden disappearance, then heard Chip cry out.

Both his and Lee's lights found her then, swinging in unison toward the XO. A struggle was illuminated in the glare. She had her hand on the gun, and her mouth was open. It took Nelson a moment to realize that her fangs were tiny, but the blood that dripped from them told the tale. As the combined blaze of the lights struck her, she screamed, and gripped the gun in both hands, wrapping her fingers around Chip's wrist. He twisted away from her, bringing his left hand into play, delivering a stunning blow to her chest. It would have brought a full- grown man down, but it didn't faze her at all. She laughed at him, twisted his wrist savagely, pulling a reluctant cry from him. The snap of the bone was audible. Then the gun came away in her hand, and she flung it away from her contemptuously.

But Chip wasn't down and out by a long shot. As Lee moved quickly to his aid, he pulled out his own dive knife, a twin to Lee's, and drove it into her shoulder. She fell away from him with a cry, and for a moment, she looked like a vulnerable teenager, her hand covering her wound, her eyes huge in the blaze of the flashlights…

Then she spun, leaping at Lee, and he swung the flashlight at her in self-defense, knocking her away from him. She was so quick… Too quick… Sharkey and his men had better come soon; Nelson had no idea how to kill this thing, and he feared very much that she was more than a match for him and his command team…