A/N Cool, looks like Chuck and Sarah are back together. No all the team has to do is save the ship find the bad guys then go home and celebrate. Hey! You need to hush. Are you trying to ruin the surprise? Security show that guy out. How the hell did he get a hold of the next part of the story. You know how much work I put into this. Now I have to change the whole ending. Damn, I really didn't want to blow Europe up. This is all his fault. Oh well, I guess you'll want to read now. Have fun.

A Heart Torn

A Charah Tale

By Lord Rapier

Edited and guided by CliffM

Chapter 7:

Next Steps

The team at the table finishes their meal and the Senior Chief cleans up the remnants. Kirk addresses him as he works. "Senior, that was a fine meal thank you."

The Senior Chief Childs smiles, "Thank you Skipper, it was my pleasure to serve you and your company."

The CO stands, when the last dish is cleared from the table, "Senior would you mind cleaning up the galley in a little while? Why don't you head down to your quarters and take a break."

The Senior Chief heads towards the door. Sarah gets up and hugs him, "You made a real difference with your scrumptious food. I think that was the best veggie pizza I've ever eaten. We're all charged up and in good spirits, Thank you." The Senior Chief leaves with a big smile on his face and Sarah returns to the table.

Casey speaks up, "First things first. Pete, do you have those drives for Chuck?"

Malloy holds up the three evidence bags. "Okay Batman, time to earn that cape and cowl."

Chuck takes the bags and places them on the table. He reaches for his travel bag, "Wish I had some Chardonnay. Hard to do the routine without it."

Casey shakes his head, "Sorry Chuck, no alcohol on a U.S. Navy ship."

Chuck places his laptop on the table, "I know. I can still do it, but it slows me down a little." Chuck plugs the first drive into his computer. "I'm gonna need IT2 Spiner standing by in the Server room to help me with the upload." He turns on his computer, plugs in the first thumb drive and talks to the screen, "Ah there you are you little dickens, nice, very nice…"

Casey turns to the table, "Okay people, he'll be gone for a while. We need a plan. Pete, would you mind getting IT2 Spiner on the phone. Have him standing by outside the server room say in..." Chuck doesn't look up, "forty-five minutes." Casey repeats, "forty-five minutes."

Sarah offers, "The bad news is Shaw knows us, but we know him. I'll bet he has explosives set up on the ship."

Casey gets up and goes to the door, "Echo One, ya got a minute?"

The Seal team leader comes into the Mess, "How can I help General?"

Casey talks to Echo One and the CO. "One, Skipper, I believe there is a high probability that there are explosives hidden in strategic places. I'd like to create pairs, one of Echo's people with one of your people who know the ship. Let's get started on a search. Maybe create three teams. Echoes people are trained in EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal). Let's team the remaining three Echo people with three of your security force. They can round up the names on the list we got from Mason. Be careful, he may have lied, and they may be armed. Try not to hurt anyone. He might not have known all of the conspirators. I am authorizing deadly force. Tell your people to use caution."

Chuck pops his head up, "One, bring me one of the explosive packages. Shaw likes to use radio frequency detonators. Bring me one. I'll figure out the frequency and build a jammer. Casey I'll need your signal jammer for that. Sarah if you have one, it might be good to have a spare. I'll add mine to the cause. We do have one advantage. A radio signal will only travel so far because of all the steel. That also means if we're guessing right, his people will have detonators on them."

Casey smiles, "That's why they call him Batman. Okay let's flesh out the rest of our plan before we make our move. Captain is that cell jammer still working?"

The CO nods, "Aye General, jamming is still effective. The crew is pissed they can't call their families. We passed the word that there's a danger of setting off damaged ordinance. That should block a cell phone detonator."

Casey nods and turns to the CAG, "Mark do you have any aircraft in the air?"

The CAG shakes his head, "Negative General, all aircraft is on deck locked down and accounted for."

Casey is happy with that, "Good, no aircraft is to be moved into launch position without my permission. Nothing, absolutely nothing, lands without my say so."

The CAG nods, "Understood Sir my flight deck is locked tight, nothing in or out."

"Jim we're going to need to control the skies around us without flying anything. How do you feel about your Weapons Officer?"

Kirk nods, "I feel good. Lt. Commander James Garner, a maverick (started out enlisted and became an officer). Been with me well over a year. We served together when he was a Petty Officer."

Casey leans back and closes his eyes wishing he could light one of his cigars, "Jim, who would know the best places to plant explosives in the engineering spaces?"

Kirk thinks a moment, "That would be my CHENG (Chief Engineering Officer) Lt. Commander Reggie Barclay. He's been with me for well over a year."

Casey nods good, "I'm going to need to talk with him too. In a while, have him bring his three most trusted Snipes (engineering crewmen) with him."

Echo ones speaks up, "General if all my men are roaming around the ship who'll provide security for the Colonel?"

Casey laughs, "Don't worry One, with Mama Hen around, that little chick is very safe. Right now, have your best EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) man come in. He's about to join the first snipe hunt. We need to find a bomb for the Colonel."

Sarah gets pissed, "Shut up Casey, it's not like you wouldn't die for him."

Chuck pops his head up, "Shhhh, I'm almost done."

Casey laughs, "Hell no, that's the furry elf's job." They both laugh it's obvious they need relief from the tension. The rest of the men in the room think they're crazy.

Captain Kirk watches the interaction between these three people and thinks, It's obvious these three have been through it together, and came out on the other side. I'm one lucky CO that they were available to save my ass.

The CAG is also taking all this in. He finds it hard to believe that these people are going to save this ship. He leans over to Casey and whispers a little too loudly, "Casey does he really know what he's doing?"

Casey laughs, and answers so everyone can hear. "Relax CAG, it's not our first nuclear crisis. Walker am I right? Is this number four?"

Sarah leans back and taps her chin, "No Casey, I think it's only three. But CAG if not for that man right there saving us from the second one, you wouldn't be sitting there. Now please don't disparage my man again. I would hate to have to kick your ass."

Kirk laughs, "Buzzsaw aye."

Sarah stands and gives him a dirty look, "That's the second time you've said that. What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kirk gets a worried look on his face.

Casey waves her down, "Walker, relax I told him that you were a buzzsaw except to one man. You're proving me right."

Sarah sits back down, "Okay, but you need to stop talking about me. I'm nice to everyone… unless they deserve something else."

Chuck looks up, he can sense that tensions are rising, that the wait is taking its toll. "Hey guys. I'm almost done. Casey what's the rest of the plan? You're going to need to get me back to the server room."

Casey speaks to the CO, "Captain I think it's almost time for us to go to General Quarters. We can get a station-by-station muster report. I want to know who's not reporting to their station. I take it your Condition One (GQ) station is the bridge? Where would the Admiral normally be?"

Kirk responds, "That's affirmative, the XO as well. WEPS (the Weapons Officer) is in CIC (Combat Information Center). That's the Admiral's station as well. The CHENG is in DCC (Damage Control Central) and will be notified if anyone breaks Zebra or requests permission to break Zebra (Condition Zebra: All watertight doors are locked down and can only be opened with command permission).

Casey leans back and rubs his eyes, "Okay let's get WEPS and CHENG with his men up here. Pretty much anyone who walks in that door remains here until we go. Walker no one leaves." Sarah touches the gun holstered in the small of her back and nods.

Captain Kirk walks over to the ships phone and dials the Bridge, "Bridge, Boatswain Mate of the watch, how can I help you?"

"This is Captain Kirk. Please track down the Chief Engineer and the Weapons officer by phone have them report to my mess."

The BMoW responds, "Aye, aye Skipper, Chief Engineer and Weapons Officer to the Captain's Mess."

Casey is barking orders now, he's in combat mode and moving smoothly, home at last. "Malloy let's get your people up here. Skipper, sorry I'm taking over your Mess. Echo One, pick three of your men to work with them. Here's the list you need to round up, keep them isolated. Save your best EOD people to work with CHENG's men. Wait until I give you the word before you start out. Skipper where can we store these people once we round them up?"

Kirk considers for a moment, "Malloy, make sure they're well searched. Confiscate anything that might be a detonator switch, and they're restrained. You can use my Mess as a makeshift brig, till this is all over."

The Weapons officer arrives in the mess and looks around, "What's going on Skipper? You wanted me?"

Kirk could see the look on his officer's face, "Jim, our ship is in jeopardy, I need to know I can count on you no matter how strange my orders may sound." WEPS walks over to stand next to his Commanding Officer, "You name it Sir, it's done."

Kirk points to a chair at the table, "Sit relax, first I want you to meet General John Casey." Casey waves from across the table, "He's the senior officer in our battle group. He's taking Admiral Mason's place. His and mine are the only orders you will follow. Understood? I want all anti-aircraft up and hot. I'm going to pass General Quarters shortly. All aircraft is to be warned away starting at three hundred miles. Any craft, air or waterborne, that gets within fifty miles gets one warning only. After warning, if it continues to close, it's to be shot out of the sky or water. Please repeat these orders, then write them down and I'll sign them. General Casey is witness to my orders and will sign as well."

The Weapons Officer, repeats "All craft are to be warned away starting at three hundred miles. Any craft, air or waterborne, that gets within fifty miles gets one warning only. After warning, if it continues to close, it is to be shot out of the sky or water. I will write these orders down General Casey and you will sign them. I understand my orders. Will the battle group be alerted to these orders?"

Casey slaps his forehead. He forgot he's the Carrier Strike Group Commander, "That's affirmative WEPS, these orders are to be relayed to the group, set a picket around Ford. Nobody in, nobody out. Keep this under your hat until the CO calls away GQ."

Kirk smiles, "Good man. Get comfortable, start writing. You may be here for a while."

"Aye, aye General, I'll write these orders down. I'm not sure what's going on, but we all know somethings up. Good luck."

Casey looks upset, "Jim could I talk to you for a minute?" Casey walks into the galley. When the Captain steps in the room and closes the door Casey takes a deep breath, "Jim, it just occurred to me, we have no way of knowing how far this infiltration goes. I'm going to put the whole Battle group into GQ. Do you have any way to give the other CO's a heads up quietly? They need to be prepared for just about anything, including explosions. Here's the part you're really going to hate. Shaw conceived this whole plan to get us here. He has to have seen signs of what's going on. Time is running out. We need to act."

Kirk leans back against a counter, "Holy shit, you're right, but without cell phones that could be tough… Hmmm the easiest way would be to send out a flash message CO's eyes only. That doesn't guarantee the wrong eyes won't see it, but it's the best I can offer. It'll have to be worded perfectly, since they won't be able to ask questions, you may want to get COMMO up here too (Communications Officer)."

Casey nods, "After you do your brief, get your officers on it. Run it past me when you like it, for fresh eyes."

Casey and the Captain step back into the Mess. The Chief Engineering Officer is waiting, with three enlisted men who are clearly freaking out. This group is way beyond their experience. The tension in the room is palpable, "You wanted to see me skipper?"

Kirk walks over to the phone to call COMMO. Casey walks over and offers CHENG his hand, "John Casey, welcome to the show. Hang on a minute, I'll explain everything."

The CHENG takes his hand, "Reg Barclay, pleasure to meet you Sir, this is EN1 Dever, MMN2 Castle, and EM1 Beckett, my three best men. Sir if half the scuttlebutt is correct, you saved our asses." Casey shakes the hand of each man.

Casey shakes his head, "Nope wrong guy." He points at Chuck, "He's the man, I just carry the bags."

Cheng looks confused, "General? The Colonel, you carry…"

Casey laughs, "We all have our skills." He taps his gun, "This is mine."

Casey calls across the room, "One, is my expert here?"

Echo One gives a thumbs up and heads across the room with a member of his team.

Casey offers his hand to the enlisted man, "Petty Officer Dever, I'm General Casey. I hope your insurance is paid up because you're about to go on a bomb hunt."

Dever's eyebrows go up, "Did you say bomb Sir?"

Casey nods, "That's affirmative son, this is Echo three, he's EOD trained. You're going to take him on a tour of your spaces and bring me back a bomb."

EN1's voice goes up, "There are bombs on our ship?"

Casey smiles, "Could be Petty Officer, right now that's our working theory. It's your job to prove us right or wrong. If you find one, Three will defuse it and you'll get it up to us here ASAP."

Casey turns to the Engineering Officer, "CHENG if you were planting explosives, where would you start?"

CHENG looks up at the overhead as he thinks, "I would plant it near the diesels' fuel line. The fuel would add to the explosion, and it would take out our back up propulsion and power. Plus it would be a lot easier to get to than the nuke engines."

To show respect Casey asks, "EN1, your thoughts."

The Petty Officer nods, "CHENG is dead on Sir. There are other spots, but that's a good one."

Casey puts his hand on his shoulder and Echo Three's and starts to walk toward the door. "Good. Dever, you get Three to the right place, help him find anything out of place, but don't touch. That's not your end, you're the tour guide. Three, if anyone gets in your way, take them out before they can use a detonator. I'm authorizing deadly force. Now the two of you get the hell out of here go save our ship." The duo head out the door and disappear down the passageway. Malloy's three Master at Arms arrive ass they leave. Casey invites them in, then turns back into the room and walks over to the CO.

There's a hum in the room as people discuss what they know and what they don't know. Casey waits for the Comm officer, Lt. Julie Macleod, to join the group, then stands at the table. "Okay people listen up, I'm General John Casey, your interim Carrier Strike Group Commander. If you're an officer, you can call me Casey, if you're Pete Malloy, you can call me any damn thing you want." The room laughs and all eyes go to the MAA and those closest slap his back. Casey winks at Echo one, who nods back.

Casey holds his hands up, "Okay settle down. This is where we get into the shit. Put your waders on and listen up because there's no room for mistakes. I'm gonna give you the rough edges. Captain Kirk will fill in the picture and issue you your orders. Hear me well, you will follow orders only from your Skipper or me, in person, as of this moment. I will be happy to put that order in writing. You write it down I'll sign it. You have my word your sixes are covered. You have my authority to ignore any order not from us or confirmed by us. Any questions?"

CHENG raises his hand, "No disrespect General, but what the hell is going on? You sound like we're about to mutiny, but you're in charge?"

Casey nods, "Good observation CHENG. No disrespect felt. Your Commanding Officer is about to fill you in. The last thing I need to tell you, nobody is to leave this room until they're told to. People, bend over and get ready for the rusty rod of reality. Skipper they're all yours."

Chuck unplugs the thumb drive from his laptop, sits back and closes it. "Okay done. I created a virus that will eat the other virus and leave no trace behind. I also built a defense that will keep it from being infected again. I just need to get back to the server. You guys are gonna get one hell of a bill."

The men at the table get their turn to laugh. Kirk looks sad as he explains, "Colonel, you're a Marine. Everything you do belongs to Uncle Sam."

Chuck looks at Sarah, "Well, not everything I do." Sarah blushes.

Casey grunts, "Damn it Carmichael, you almost made it through a whole day without making me sick."

Casey looks at Echo One, "One you're up to speed. Grab one of your men, you know where he needs to go. Walker, I need you here, sorry. Colonel how long will you need in there?"

Chuck stands up and tosses a thumb drive to Casey, "Ten minutes give or take. That's a backup just in case."

Casey nods as he puts it in his pocket, "Good man. One, get him there and back. Hustle." Echo One steps out into the passageway and waves Chuck to follow.

Chuck grabs something out of his case and tucks it into the back of his pants. He stands to move to the door. Sarah grabs him and kisses him hard. "One, You bring him back to me, or don't come back." The men in the room all join in for a big "Wooooo."

The door closes, and the CO starts his briefing, "Gentlemen, ladies, we've been breached. Admiral Mason has terminal cancer, six months left to live. He loaded a virus into our servers designed to send our reactor into overdrive and explode if we didn't pay a ransom of one Billion dollars. He's in custody and will spend what's left of his miserable life behind bars. Our visitors General Casey and Colonel Carmichael were able to end that threat. Somehow a terrorist by the name of Daniel Shaw found a way to become my Executive Officer. It seems he has confederates on Ford. We know of at least seven, their names are on this list. They'll be rounded up shortly.

Shaw is known to use explosives as a backup if his plans are interrupted. We're working on that possibility as we speak. I'll be calling away General Quarters shortly. With Zebra set we're hoping it'll minimize damage if we miss any bombs. I'll be sending six teams out, three to search for the possible devices. Each of those teams will be made up of one of CHENG's people and a member of the Seal Team we picked up.

The other three teams will be composed of the three remaining seal team members and three of MAA's security force. They'll be rounding up the names on that list and any person caught breaking Zebra. Make sure you keep your eyes open for detonators when you approach them. The Seal team members are authorized to use deadly force as required.

The six teams will move about freely. They will not need to report or log Zebra openings, but they will secure all hatches behind them. CHENG, you'll be our eyes and ears. Since I may be on the bridge next to the traitor, you will interface with the General in CIC.

People, I can't tell you how dangerous things are about to get. Our lives, the lives of our shipmates, and the safety of our ship, our home at sea, all in jeopardy. When I'm done with this briefing, I'll be working with the officers to create a flash message to go out to the COs for the rest of our group. It'll be CO's eyes only. Lt. MacLeod, you'll ensure that no one sees that message except you."

Lt. MacLeod speaks up, "Aye, aye Skipper, I'll key it in personally."

The Captain finishes up with, "Any questions?"

There is a cacophony of voices as everyone speaks up at once. Casey stands up and yells, "As you were." He looks around the room with a disapproving gaze, "If you act this way how do you expect your troops to act?"

The door opens, Chuck and the two Echo team members enter the room. He gives Casey a thumbs up as Sarah walks over to hug him, then stand by his side her arm around him.

CHENG speaks harshly to Casey, "Who the hell is she? What's she doing here?"

Casey smiles, "Go punch the Colonel. She'll be happy to ID herself." Sarah smiles, "Or you can avoid a broken arm, keep your face intact and trust that she's on my team and needs to be here." CHENG grumbles and backs down.

Casey claps his hands, "Look, we're all here for the same reason, so let's focus on that. Are there any questions about your orders? I promise I'll fill you all in on the backstory and who we are as soon as we can breathe again. CHENG, I get your apprehension. Lots of secrets floating around. I also know you're in the toughest spot of all. The odds are any explosives will be in your spaces. Regardless of where they are, your Damage Control teams will be handling the mess if we miss any. Can we count on you?

CHENG is apologetic in tone as he says, "Of course General, Skipper, one hundred percent."

"WEPS, I know we're concentrating on engineering spaces, but Shaw has had access for quite some time. Have your people look around the weapons spaces, especially the magazines. They'll provide a good return on a small device. Make sure your people know that if they spot anything suspicious, they are not to touch. Have them contact you and we'll get the EODs there."

The door opens, and Echo Three and En1 enter carrying a package. They walk over and place it on the table in front of Chuck. Echo Three remarks, "I disarmed it, but it could still bite." Chuck slowly opens the small box to reveal a block of plastic explosives with timer and other electronics attached. Chuck's eyes go into the top of his head as he accesses bomb schematics in the intersect. He nods, "Yep it's Shaw, definitely a radio detonator." He reaches in carefully and detaches the receiver from the explosives, "Three, you can have that part. This is what I need." Three carefully takes the explosive package from in front of Chuck who places the receiver on the table and begins to remove the screws holding it closed.

Once the receiver is open, he grabs a jeweler's loupe from his case and examines the internal electronics. "Casey, Sarah, I need your jammers." He reaches into his case and pulls out a gadget that matches the ones placed in front of him by his teammates. One by one he inserts a small screwdriver and slowly turns it until he sees the number he wants in the small opening. When he is satisfied that all three units are where he wants them, he closes the bomb detonator and turns it on. The numbers on the front start to count down. Chuck presses the button on one of the jammers and the screen goes dark. He smiles and sits back, "We have three jammers. Casey, they're all yours."

Casey sits back and considers his next move. "One, your bomb hunters will be in the greatest danger. Give one of these jammers to each of them. Make sure they have them turned on. Hmmmm, Skipper, One, CAG can I see you in the galley please?"

The three men step into the galley for about five minutes and come out nodding their heads.

Casey sits down, "Okay Captain, let's get started on that message. Lt. MacLeod, a moment of your time? Before I turn you over to the CO, Walker join us."

Casey steps into the galley followed by the COMMO and Sarah. Casey leans against a counter. "Do you mind if I call you Julie?"

Macleod nods, "No problem, Sir."

Casey continues, "Julie do you think you can come up with a set of khakis for Agent Walker here? I want her to blend in where she goes, and you're about the same size." Lt. MacLeod nods, "No problem, Sir. But Sir, we're not allowed to leave."

Casey stands up, "Leave that to me. Go out there and help the CO with that message. Keep this between us."

Macleod leaves the galley and Sarah turns to Casey. "If I find him, can I kill him?"

Casey smiles and tilts his head, "If you don't, I'll be pretty pissed. We both know he won't talk, so why keep him around?" Casey takes a deep breath, "Sarah, I'm sending Chuck as your backup."

Sarah shakes her head and paces the small galley, "No. No way. I just got him back. He doesn't have the intersect, and I won't let you put him in harm's way."

Casey puts his hands on Sarah's shoulders, "He flew the Hornet. He could kick your ass."

Sarah looks shaken, "How?"

Casey smiles, "He's Batman," he laughs, "We'll talk later. I'm sure he'll tell you everything. You are only the fourth person in the world to know. I have no one else I can put with you that's as capable. Shaw's dangerous, and you have history. I want you safe, and so does Chuck. I can't think of two people who would cover each other better."

Sarah is uncertain, "So help me Casey if he gets hurt…"

Casey looks into her eyes, "You think I'll need you to kick my ass? Who do you think has been taking care of him for the last two years? You just make sure we all go home… to Burbank."

Sarah puts her arms around him, "Thank you for looking after him. I'm sorry I dropped that on you."

Casey pats her on the back, "Okay fine. Enough with the hugging already. Jeez."

Casey and Sarah step back out into the Mess. The officers are sitting around the table working on the message. The engineer/EOD teams are discussing where they would plant bombs, and the MAA/Echo Teams are going over the list of names and coming up with a plan to grab them.

Speaking loud enough to get over the hum of voices, Casey addresses the room, "People if you believe in prayer, now's the time to talk to the boss. Apprehension teams, remember the people you're hunting may very well be armed and may have detonators. All Teams, you are authorized to use deadly force, but please be careful how you apply that. You're away. Go catch me some assholes." Six men head out to hunt Shaw's people.

Casey looks at the remaining enlisted men, "Gentlemen, everything I just said goes for you in spades. Bomb Hunters be careful, you get killed and cause me paperwork, I will be pissed." The room laughs. "Bomb Hunters, you're away. Stay safe, use your jammers. Malloy, you, and your Marine guard will remain here. You'll be guarding our makeshift brig.

Captain, how's that message looking?" Kirk hands a paper to Casey who reads it carefully, "Looks good. MacLeod you're up. Walker will escort you for a head break before GQ, then to the radio room." Walker, a moment before you head out?"

Sarah walks over to Casey, and he whispers in her ear, "Get into khaki's. Stay with COMMO, in radio until GQ goes. Tell her to take her station, then you head to the flight deck. Make sure you look like the other people up there. Chuck will be there too. My guess is Shaw won't head to the bridge. He'll look for a ride out of here. I plan on arranging one for him." Sarah nods, grabs MacLeod and heads for the door.

"Pete, would you mind walking CHENG and WEPs to the head? GQ will be going down shortly. Gentlemen if any of you tries to communicate with someone outside this group, I expect the other two will take him down and get back to me. If all goes well WEPS I'll see you in CIC."

Casey takes a deep breath, "CAG, one more item. We may have casualties. Let's have a helo gassed up and ready to fly just in case. I don't want to see any other aircraft on the flightline. If that chopper goes up, station another, for medical emergencies. Captain Kirk, it's time to go to General Quarters. Keep your fingers crossed, and hope I read the enemy right, good luck people."

A/N Holy BIG BOOM, Batman. Casey seems to be in his element. The team is back together, and Sarah is making it clear that no one messes with her man. I need to take a breath. This is so exciting. Why is Casey sending Charah to the flight deck? Now we know there are bombs. Will they find them in time. Stay tuned fellow Team Bartowski Fans, all we be revealed, or vaporized. Bwaa Haa Haaa.