On Tenterhooks

A week earlier offshore of Mulayo

Chip stood impatiently at the plot table. He felt like tapping the pencil or pacing back and forth between here and the radio shack. Jingling the coins in his pocket wasn't going to make FS1 arrive any sooner or dock more quickly. Maybe he could just fling all the charts across the control room.

He couldn't remember when he last slept. That was no excuse. He needed to get a hold of himself. Fidgeting and pacing were not good examples for the men. A Skipper might vent frustrations that way sometimes but not an XO. What was wrong with him? He knew several answers to that. One was that he was beat, so tired he wasn't behaving as a good Exec should. Another was that his best friends on this earth were in FS1 and both in serious trouble of different sorts.

There was no reason to order Doc and the corpsmen here before FS1 was on its docking approach, bringing them here too soon would hinder their preparations back in sick bay. At least they knew in advance what injury the Skipper was coming in with. It didn't help that the injury was now several days old and had not been treated yet. At least not medical treatment. Just some sort of phantom thing that had kept Lee's body alive. Chip wondered about Lee's mind.

Sparks piped up, "Mr. Morton FS1 is starting its berthing run, sir."

"Very well." Chip lifted the mike and contacted sick bay.

Soon the corpsmen and Doc were working their way through the control room to the observation nose.

Chip lifted the mike again. "Master at Arms report to the observation nose." Although he had let Nelson off the boat and Nelson had found the Skipper and was bringing him home the Admiral was still, technically at least, under arrest.

As soon as FS1 was docked and the hatch cleared to open Chip was turning the hand wheel. He lifted the hatch and looked down into the eyes of a rather scantily clad woman of savage beauty. He blinked in surprise he'd forgotten that Nelson had mentioned a girl. He was shocked at his oversight. He should put himself on report for neglecting this. Now his meticulous preparations to get the Skipper off and to sick bay were off kilter before they started. He would need her up and out of FS1 to make space for the corpsmen to extricate the Skipper.

He looked past the medical personnel already filling the space between the plot table and the flying sub hatch and his eyes chanced upon Riley first. "Riley over here."

"Aye, aye, sir." Riley worked his way forward around the corpsmen and their equipment.

"Riley please see our guest to a guest cabin, look out dry clothes, whatever is needed and a meal. I'll check in on you later."

"Yes, sir." Riley was disappointed. Riley, the youngest crewman aboard, hero worshipped the Skipper and thought he hid it well but the rest of the ratings knew and actually understood. Most of the men had hero worshiped some officer in their own younger days. But all the crew had a certain loyalty to the Skipper and hoped to catch a glimpse of him before he disappeared into the impregnable fastness of sick bay. They all felt the need to verify for themselves that he was alive. Riley was crestfallen but for sure Pat or Ski would watch out and tell him whatever they saw of the Skipper.

He stepped forward to assist the guest. At about that moment Maria climbed out of FS1 with Morton giving her a hand up and appeared on deck. As Riley saw her his longing to gaze at his idolized Skipper flagged as he gazed at the guest instead. He couldn't believe his luck. He and Maria moved around the corpsmen and disappeared up the spiral stairs to find her food and clothing.

Chip almost flew down into FS1 leaping to the aft of the ladder eschewing the steps in his haste to see Lee. The Admiral was standing by the bunk looking lost and completely spent. Chip placed his hand on the Admiral's shoulder as he approached but had eyes only for Lee.

Lee was lying on his side in the bunk his face tipped down toward the mattress. He was as white as a ghost. His skin almost translucent he was so waxy pale, almost blue tinged with chill or lack of adequate blood oxygenation. Motionless and limp he didn't look good.

"How is he?" Chip breathed out in a whisper.

"Alive." Nelson had nothing else to say. He too was looking only at Lee. Neither of them touched him yet although they both desperately needed to. Lee needed medical attention first and foremost and the corpsmen were already here.

"Sir let's get you out of here so they have room to work." Chip suggested.

Nelson nodded hopelessly. Lee looked like death.

After delivering the Admiral into the charge of the MAA Chip followed the medical personnel to sick bay but then helplessly retreated to let them do what needed to be done while he tended to the Admiral and their guest.

Chip knocked on Nelson's cabin door and went in at Nelson's "Come in."

"Sir, how are you?"

"Feeling pretty grim, Chip. Doc say anything?"

"Nothing yet."

Nelson sighed. He hauled out his gun turned the butt toward Chip and handed it over. "Before you ask here it is."

"Thank you, sir." Chip took it feeling rather awkward. "Sir I'm sorry but a guard will be outside your door. You will be confined to your cabin for the time being."

"I understand, Chip." Nelson sighed heavily. "How's the girl?"

"Riley is getting her squared away at the moment. I haven't spoken with her yet."

"Chip we'll need to be very careful there. Lee, no not Lee, Krueger, Krueger was strangling her when I found them."

The two men looked at each other feeling the burden of yet another calamity facing them. Up until now they had been focussed on freeing Lee from Krueger, getting Lee home to Seaview and into Doc's hands. Morton had felt that once that happened they would have succeeded. Doc would save Lee. He would pull through. He had to. They would have defeated Krueger. That was not so. Krueger was reaching back from the grave, from the destroyed island of Mulayo threatening the Skipper yet again.

Lee could be forever sullied. If he died now their honourable friend who lived for duty would be disgraced for attempted murder. If he lived he would have a life in a prison cell waiting for him as well as that disgrace. Chip and Nelson looked at each other almost in defeat. They had been so close to saving Lee. Chip turned away and pounded his fist on the bulkhead hurting himself in his rage.

Then Chip stood immobile trying to get his emotions under control. Nelson stood nearby understanding how he felt but letting him work through it on his own. After a few moments Chip inhaled, held the breath for a beat then exhaled and rubbed a hand over his face. Nelson stepped up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder briefly and then backed away.

They had got one thing sorted out just to have something equally perilous crop up.