Chapter 13

As Lee swam slowly towards consciousness he began cataloging the odors, sensations, and sounds around him. The hint of antiseptic on the air indicated a medical facility, but where? As he continued his rise he caught the subtle and reassuring bass thrum of Seaview's engines at idle, and by the very minute motion he detected she was now docked, most likely at the NIMR pier. He became aware of something placed over his nose and mouth, an oxygen mask, and finally registered the soft yet familiar voices nearby.

"Well he should be out for another three to four hours. That should give me enough time to get him off the boat and securely ensconced in Med Bay before he wakes up," Jamieson said.

'Yeah, right, like that's gonna happen,' Lee thought to himself as he processed the statement as he floated in a half awake state. Suddenly everything coalesced into crystal clarity. They were at the surface, back in port, boat secured to the dock, hatches open, and the minute they switched to port operations the idling engines would be shut down initiating the autodestruct command.

As that dawned upon him his eyes suddenly shot open and he sat bolt upright in bed, ripped off the mask, and tried desperately to get out of bed. "NO!" he screamed, "Don't let them turn off the engines, they'll incinerate the boat!"

He immediately had a number of hands pressing him back down onto his bunk, and a chorus of voices trying to calm him. "Captain!" "Lee!" "Son!" As he fought desperately to get out of bed, and catch his breath he simultaneously focused on those trying to detain him, and finally recognized Harri, Chip, and Jamie.

"Admiral, don't let them shut off the engines!" he cried out. "She'll autodestruct!"

"Easy lad, easy," Harri replied in a calming tone. "We know about the autodestruct and have aborted the program. Seaview's in no danger."

Lee stared earnestly at the three men looking for confirmation that what Harri had said was true. He saw Chip nodding emphatically in agreement. Lee let Jamie and Harri ease him back down on his bunk as he processed Harri's words.

"Relax Lee. We've been in touch with Darren and issued the abort commands, everything is disarmed. We're home safe and sound thanks to you," Chip added reassuringly.

"Disarmed?" Lee asked, then released a sigh of relief, which in turn triggered a wicked coughing jag that had him curled up on his side in the fetal position. Jamie jumped in immediately and eased him up into a raised position making it easier for him to cough and breathe. Harri and Chip looked on with great concern.

After the coughing spasm ended, Lee laid back on the pillows now stacked behind his back and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Home?! Already? How long have I been out?" Lee asked breathlessly.

"Not nearly long enough," grumbled Jamieson. "I should know by now to double the dosage to keep him out like normal people or better yet switch to animal tranquilizers. In answer to your question Captain, about 30 hours. Now that I have you awake, how are you feeling?"

"Thirty hours?" he replied, stunned at the amount of time he'd been down. "Uh, I feel fine," Lee replied, then caught the eye rolls and snorts of disbelief from everyone in Sick Bay. "Okay, I still feel a bit winded and my chest is a tad sore, but other than that I'm fine. In fact, I'm ready to go check out my boat," he added and then moved to get out of bed.

"Not on your life!" Jamieson exclaimed. "That breathing mixture you used did quite a number on your lungs along with all the coughing you've been doing trying to clear them. They are seriously irritated and by the sound of it you have the onset of pneumonia. You're going to be a guest of Med Bay for at least the next five days."

"Five days?! I don't need to go to Med Bay, I feel fine. Just give me a shot of antibiotics and I'll be good to go," Lee pleaded.

"No dice, Captain. This is new and uncovered ground with this mixture and both Dr. Marquez and I want to make damn sure you heal with no complications. Depending on how well you follow instructions and rest will greatly determine how long I have you in my clutches. You fight me on this and I'll double your time just out of spite."

Lee scowled at Jamieson, then shot a pleading eye to Nelson to grant him some leniency. Harri laughed. "Not this time lad; what the doctors say goes."

Lee harrumphed and looked much like a 10-year-old who had just been grounded. They all laughed and shook their heads.

"Thank you Lee," Harri said sincerely, after he schooled his laughter. "That was one hell of a rescue. When Tom Hardy said you'd been killed I about lost hope, but somehow I think I knew in the back of my mind you were still out there. The way you got on board was the last thing I or anyone ever expected. You took one hell of a chance, son."

"It was the only way we could come up with, sir. Given it was Logan we were dealing with, I just assumed he had an ace sonar operator so any other vessel trying to get close would be detected. I had to give it a shot one way or the other," Lee explained.

They all rolled their eyes, having heard all the details from Starke as to how Lee had plotted and planned the entire operation. "I'm not sure I would have approved if I had known what you intended to do, but I can't argue with the results. Your timing was equally impeccable when Logan came down the staircase after your teams had secured the boat. I truly thank you for that as well."

Lee smiled and blushed somewhat at the praise. "Well it never should have been required sir. I had planned to knock everyone out using canisters loaded with sedatives introduced into the air revitalization unit. That went the way of the dodo when I screwed up my entry to the boat through the moon pool. My aim was slightly off and I caught the outside edge of the boat with the back of my tank as I shot up into the well. It tore off the bag with the canisters and my gun. I was back to square one once I crawled aboard," he explained.

"Taking Logan out on the staircase was much easier than it seemed, sir. I was unable to go with my team when they entered the control room because of breathing problems so they stashed me in my cabin to recover. I had pretty much regained my breath by the time Chip called for each station to report their status and the updates flooded in indicating the boat was ours. As I was crawling out of my bunk to come down and congratulate the teams, I heard Logan run by my cabin door cursing up a blue streak at having lost his prize and swearing to kill you. I grabbed my gun and followed as quickly as I was able. He was moving a lot faster than I could, I'm sorry I couldn't get there sooner," Lee ended apologetically.

Harri just shook his head in amusement. "You have my thanks nonetheless, son."

Chip hazarded a quick glance at his watch and sighed. "Well, some of us have to work around here," he said with a wink and a smile. "Time to go make sure your gray lady is properly tucked in. Behave yourself and I'll see you once you're settled in Med Bay,"

Lee grimaced theatrically at the distasteful thought of another week in Med Bay, then returned Chip's smile. "See you later, Chip. Treat my girl right." Chip gave him a quick salute and headed to the control room to finish up the paperwork and other tasks necessary to end the mission.

"On that note, I need to go track down the status of your transport to Med Bay. And before you even ask, NO you will not be walking off this boat. You're still too weak and having too much difficulty breathing. You could easily pass out from the exertion and fall down a ladder injuring yourself, the person unfortunate enough to be behind you or both, causing me more work and having to put up with you for a longer period of time in Med Bay," Jamieson stated emphatically as he moved towards his office. "Keep an eye on him if you would Admiral. I don't want him to have even the slightest opportunity to go ONI AWOL."

Lee rolled his eyes and sighed in protest while Harri and Jamie laughed. Now alone Harri grabbed the chair located near Lee's bunk and sat down beside him.

"I have to say it again, that was on hell of a rescue, Son. I was quite pleasantly surprised to see you weren't dead," Harri said and placed his hand on Lee's shoulder.

Lee smiled slightly and averted his eyes as he nervously fingered the blanket draped across his waist. "I'm truly sorry about that Harri but we felt it was necessary to free me up to come after you."

"I won't lie to you; I was heartbroken when Hardy told us you had been killed. It all fit perfectly with where I had suspected you'd been sent and the timing of that accident. Chip and I both reeled from that news."

"Your reaction to the news sounded quite sincere and heartfelt, and went a long way towards selling our lie. I felt like a colossal jerk sitting there listening to your words of sorrow, but I was also very warmed by your request to Admiral Hardy that he have my body brought home," Lee confessed.

"There was no acting involved with that Lee, my initial reaction was real. I felt as though someone had plunged a knife through my heart when Hardy said you were dead. Tom deserves an award for his performance, that's what made it seem so probable at first. It was only after I had time to think on it did it seem possible that you were still alive and working on a plan to retake the boat, and prayed that was the case."

"Well at least we are rid of Logan once and for all. I still marvel at what he was able to achieve even locked away. Was his only reason for going after Seaview revenge?" Lee asked.

"In large part I think so, but she is also a very powerful and valuable bargaining chip. He was still consumed with his obsession with the Mona Lisa and had delusions of using Seaview along with her weaponry to force the world to give her to him. It's said that everyone has something that they are unwilling to live without and would go to great extremes to possess. The Mona Lisa was Logan's Achilles heel, the siren that eventually called him to his ultimate downfall," Harri answered.

Lee nodded slightly as he very much recognized his own near obsession with Seaview. "In some ways I can understand that, this gray lady of yours constantly enchants me with her siren's song. It almost frightens me at times how much I would do to keep her in my possession," he said honestly.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that lad, you are far too well grounded to let your love for our lady drive you to desperate and unreasonable acts. You demonstrated that during this incident. Even though she is one of the things you hold dearest, you would grudgingly give her up to protect the world. Logan only thought of himself and had little to no faith in those he kept around him as servants. Had he only empowered some of his lieutenants to operate in his stead, we would not be having this conversation," Harri responded. "The one obsessive compulsion of yours that I do truly wish you'd get over though is this need to answer every time ONI calls," he added with a smile.

"Ah sir, but had it not been for that very obsession, we would not be having this conversation," Lee responded and chuckled hoarsely.

Harri laughed as well. "As loathe as I am to agree with you, I have to count us fortunate that you were out running errands when all this went down. Don't you dare tell Hardy I said that or you'll become even more acquainted with the bilges of your boat," Harri replied. "So Al tells me you are now the proud owner of the world record for deepest scuba dive, which he thinks will stand for quite some time. What was that like, descending through 3400 feet of water in just your scuba gear?"

"It was quite surreal, sir. I have never felt so isolated and alone in my life, even that trip to Venus can't compare. As I kept going deeper, more and more of my connections to the world above were swallowed up by the impenetrable darkness and suffocating weight of the water. I came the closest I've ever been to pure panic. I knew there was no help to be had if I ran into problems even though I was only a few inches away from the air and warmth inside the bell. It was only through my strong obsession to keep my family, my crew, and Seaview safe could I maintain my tenuous grip on reality, focus on my task, and drive off the despair consuming me along with my overwhelming need to bolt to the surface."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that Lee, but you know we all appreciate it. I guess it best that we not try to cure you of those ills," Harri replied as he patted Lee on the shoulder.

"What ills?" Jamieson inquired as he walked back into the room.

"Nothing Will, nothing," Nelson assured him.

Jamieson regarded both men for a moment and scowled sure they were up to something. "Yeah, right. Well your chariot has arrived Captain, time for you to disembark."

"All right Jamie, I guess I could use a little more rest. Take me, I'm yours," Lee replied laughingly and was quickly joined by Nelson and Jamieson.

ooolo)

After arriving at Med Bay and being securely tucked in for the night, Lee drifted easily off to sleep. As he let loose the reins of consciousness and willingly greeted Morpheus, he thought for a moment he heard off in the distance, a most alluring and beckoning female voice softly calling out to him, beseeching him to return to her lonely heart and welcoming arms. A soft smile swept across his lips as he recognized Seaview's song; the siren's call that he would always answer until his end of days.

The End.

Season 1: The Buccaneer

Thanks to all who have read and especially those who have taken the time to comment on my story. I am quite sincere when I say I appreciate you spending the time to let me know that I have managed to entertain you just a bit. You all make this fun for me and well worth the effort. Also a BIG shout out to my Beta squad, for a shove in the right direction. You guys put the whipped cream and cherry on the top. CK