Three members of the seaQuest's crew sat at Docking Bay # 3 at UEO headquarters. Their launch was ready and they'd been cleared by the Harbormaster. They did not go down and board the launch. They couldn't. Not yet.
Ensign Lonnie Henderson leaned on a tree and breathed in the ocean air. Fresh air was something one came to really appreciate living on a submarine.
Computer Specialist Lucas Wolenczak sat on a huge rock whie dangling his feet. He kicked at the rock nervously and absently fingered the ever present laptop he was seldom without. He was tempted to open it up and do something - anything to break the tension. He really didn't feel particularly nervous himself but Brody was making him feel that way.
Lt James Brody was in charge and he was pacing like a caged tiger and muttering under his breath. Everything had gone just fine today -- until now. For the tenth time he looked at his watch.
Henderson sighed and crossed over to him. "Don't worry," she smiled pleasantly. "He'll be here."
"If he's not here in four minutes he can damn well walk back to seaQuest!" Brody snapped angrily.
Just then a large red van pulled up at the far end of the walkway. The words UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI ATHLETIC DEPT. GIRLS' VOLLEY BALL TEAM were painted on the side. The side door slid opened and Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz climbed out. Two different girls kissed him good-bye. He smiled and waved at the entire van load of girls then walked down the path to the shuttle docking area. His chipper mood was dampened somewhat by the way the others, particularly Brody, were staring at him. He began to feel very uncomfortable.
"What? I had a date," he defended himself. He quickly walked past them and boarded the shuttle.
"With a volleyball team?!" Brody hollered after him incredulously, " Ortiz, that's NOT a date!" He followed him onto the shuttle.
"No," Lucas murmured in astonishment, "That's a fantasy." He also boarded the shuttle.
Henderson shook her head and also got onboard. She secured the hatch then climbed into the cockpit and took her place in the pilot's seat. One look at the others told her this was going to be a long testosterone laden trip back to seaQuest. She sighed and eased the shuttle out of it's docking bay.
Brody was next to her in the copilot's seat but he was not facing the controls. He had his chair swiveled toward Ortiz who was at the sensor station right behind Henderson. He was obviously still angry at him.
"So, when did you have time to plan a date?" he asked snidely.
"I didn't exactly plan it," Ortiz shrugged. "I just met them on the beach this afternoon."
"The beach?!! My God, Miguel, did you forget to take your exam?"
"Course not. I took it right after the lecture this morning."
"This morning?" Henderson asked, "You were supposed to spend the afternoon studying your notes."
"I didn't take any notes."
"Miguel, are you nuts?!" Brody exploded. "This is serious! That exam is important. If you don't recertify, Bridger will kill you!"
"I rectified," Ortiz said simply.
"But you didn't even take any notes," Lucas pointed out.
"There wasn't anything in the lecture I didn't already know. There wasn't anything on the exam I didn't know. I keep up on this stuff. It's my job and I'm interested in it," Ortiz said defensively.
"There was nothing on the exam you didn't know? Hah! I guess we'll have to wait till we get the scores to make you eat those words!" Brody gloated.
"We don't have to wait," Lucas said quietly but with a wicked gleam in his eye.
"What do you mean?" Henderson asked.
Lucas opened up his laptop somewhat smugly, "I can tap into the UEO mainframe and get your scores right now."
"As the UEO officer in charge, I can't ask you to do that," Brody cautioned.
"I'm not the officer in charge. I'll ask you," Henderson said eagerly.
"Yeah," Brody agreed. "I'd like to see Ortiz eat some humble pie."
"I'm humble," Ortiz pointed out.
Lucas hacked into the UEO computer with ease. He called up the correct screen. Names and scores went scrolling by. He stopped when he got to the name Brody. Brody craned closer so he could see the screen.
"Congratulations, Lt.," Lucas said. "92."
"That's great!" Henderson said, "Anything over an 85 in Security Ops is considered outstanding, isn't it?"
"I've heard something like that," Brody feigned modesty.
Lucas let the screen scroll down some more. He stopped at Henderson. Her exam was in Advanced Navigation.
"Lonnie! You got a 93!" he told her.
"All that cramming this afternoon paid off," she smiled broadly.
"That's dedication," Brody stated emphatically. "Lonnie didn't waste her afternoon lolligagging around on the beach. Check Ortiz' score."
Lucas let the scroll continue till he got to Ortiz. The screen read: Ortiz, Miguel Sensor Ops. 100.
"That's impossible!" Brody gasped, "You can't score 100 on these exams!!"
"I told you I keep up with this," Ortiz said.
"I guess Tony will have to quit giving you a hard time about always having your nose in a tech manual," Lucas told him.
"Maybe next time you'll be here to give a lecture, like Lucas," Brody grumbled.
Ortiz looked down and tried not to smile at Brody's anger.
"How'd you do it?" Lucas asked him in a stage whisper.
"I remember what I read," he shrugged.
"You'd have to have a photographic memory to remember it all," Lucas stated flatly.
"So?" Ortiz suddenly seemed defensive.
"Come off it, Ortiz. You'd have been tagged in grade school if you had total recall," Brody scoffed.
"School officials aren't that hard to fool. Besides, in my neighborhood it was a whole lot safer to have the other kids think you cheated."
"You remember everything? Word for word?" Lucas still couldn't buy it.
"Pretty much. Can we drop it, huh?" Ortiz was becoming annoyed.
Henderson decided to come to his rescue. "We're out in the open sea now," she announced. "You want to check in?"
Brody turned toward the instrument panel and picked up the mic. "Shuttle MR 6 to seaQuest," he called.
"SeaQuest to Shuttle MR 6," O'Neill's filtered voice replied. "There you guys are. We were about to give up on you."
"Talk to your friend Miguel about that," Brody stated flatly.
"Miguel? What did he do?"
"You'll have to ask him yourself but it involves the University of Miami's Girls' Volleyball Team," Brody hoped Ford or Bridger was within earshot.
O'Neill was laughing by this time so the brass evidently had not overheard.
"Some guys have all the luck. Well, it doesn't look like you'll be able to make up any time. A freaky storm front has moved in. You'll either have to dive to go under it or go around it. Keep us posted as to your position."
"Acknowledged, seaQuest. MR 6 out." Brody hung the mic back on its stand and shot another sour look at Ortiz. He noticed him pulling at his shirt collar. "I HOPE you got a sunburn."
"No. Just a little sand in my shirt."
"I could almost hate him and his darned luck," Brody muttered.
Henderson was beginning to feel the effects of the storm above them. She was having to really put some effort into keeping them on course. "I hope his luck extends to the rest of us. It's starting to get rough!"
"Let me help you," Brody took his set of controls. The shuttle was really being buffeted now and Henderson was beginning to show signs of panic.
"Oh no!" she suddenly gasped.
"What is it?" Lucas was also a tad bit frightened.
"All my readouts! The compass. Everything! It's all haywire!" Henderson gasped.
"It's alright, Henderson. Maintain your current heading." There was calm authority in Brody's voice.
"How can I do that?! I'm blind here! What's happening?"
Ortiz unstrapped himself and stood up. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It's OK, Lonnie. It's just the Triangle. This happens sometimes."
"It didn't happen on the way in."
"If it happened all the time it would take the fun out of it," Ortiz joked.
"FUN?!" she screamed furiously. "Sit down and strap in. I don't have time for your macho crapola!"
Ortiz obeyed.
Lucas leaned over to him. "THAT'S how you charm women? All you did was make her mad!"
"That's what I was trying to do. See, she's not panicky anymore," Ortiz confided quietly.
Lucas was amazed. There wasn't time for any more conversation. The shuttle was really bucking violently by now. It was all Lucas could do to stay in his seat and keep a good grip on his precious laptop.
***
On board the seaQuest Lt McKenna was manning the Sensor Station. Suddenly she gasped.
Captain Bridger spun in his chair to face her. "What is it, Ms McKenna?"
"It's the shuttle, sir." She was obviously rattled. "It just disappeared off the screen. I'm running a standard search sweep but there's just no sign of them!"
Commander Ford looked up from his clipboard and exchanged a worried look with Bridger.
Bridger forced himself to remain in his chair. The last thing McKenna needed was him looking over her shoulder. "Continue the search," he said in a businesslike voice. After all, this was the Triangle and it was full of tricks.
***
Inside the shuttle both Henderson and Brody fought the controls. Ortiz had to brace himself with one hand but he was working feverishly to keep the Sensors on line. Finally the rocking began to lessen. The shuttle was able to regain its trim. All systems began to blink back into operation. Lonnie breathed a sigh of relief. She's heard stories about the Triangle but from the safety of her home in Wyoming they'd all seemed like hogwash.
"Alright, Lonnie!" Lucas extended his heartfelt appreciation of her piloting skills.
"Good work," Brody told her with a smile.
"All I want to do now is go home," she admitted.
Ortiz looked up from the Sensor screen. "Well, we're coming up on the seaQuest now," he said matter-of-factly.
"See, everything's alright," Brody's cockiness had returned. He reached for the mic. "Shuttle MR 6 to seaQuest. Come in, seaQuest."
There was no response from seaQuest. They all exchanged curious glances. Brody shrugged and tried again. "Repeat. MR 6 to seaQuest. Come in, seaQuest. Require docking instructions." He let the impatience he felt show in his voice. O'Neill would get the message.
To their surprise it was Ford not O'Neill that answered. What was even more surprising was his flippant attitude. "The valet seems to be out. Park where ever you want."
Their puzzlement deepened.
"Was that Commander Ford?" Lucas asked.
Brody shrugged, "MR 6 out."
"Whatever," came back the indifferent reply.
Everyone in the shuttle was too shocked to comment. They were just glad when Lonnie slid the shuttle into an available slip and they got out safely on the seaQuest once more.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. I'm heading for the mess," Ortiz told them and went off in that direction.
The other three continued on through Sea Deck. Lucas casually approached the moonpool. He playfully splashed in the water. "Darwin, I'm home," he called.
Suddenly the moonpool was inhabited. But it was not Darwin that swam toward the splashing at full throttle. It was three large blue sharks. Lucas was momentarily frozen in shock. Brody roughly yanked him back away from the moonpool.
Brody was uncharacteristically pale. In fact, he looked almost terrified. Henderson was concerned at his behavior. "Are you alright, Lt?"
"Sure," Brody had recovered a little and was trying to play the incident down. "It's just that I hate sharks. The Brodys have always hated sharks."
"Where's Darwin?" Lucas demanded, "And why the hell are there sharks in there?!"
None of them noticed a dark figure step from the shadows. A figure that was at once familiar and alien. He was the image of Nathan Bridger but the image was somewhat tarnished. He looked far more grizzled and bitter. He walked with a limp and leaned on a stylized walking stick with an intricately carved shark's head on the pommel.
"There's always been sharks in there, kid. Sharks trained to do my bidding." He dramatically raised his arm and pressed a button on a watchlike devise he wore strapped to his wrist. "Come," he commanded simply.
The moonpool began to fill with even more sharks. Lucas and Brody instinctively stepped back away from the moonpool. Bridger regarded them with disgust and turned back to his 'pets'.
"Sharks," he continued with pride. "The perfect predator. The perfect killing machine. 65 million years of evolution has done little to improve upon the original design. They were here before us and they'll survive us. And, up until the time that I perfected the command system, they knew no master. Now they answer to me. The perfect weapon. Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?"
Henderson looked thoroughly disgusted.
Lucas' confusion was complete, "Is this some kind of joke, Captain?"
Bridger suddenly flew into a blind rage. He backhanded Lucas knocking him to the deck.
"What the hell did you call me, Kid?"
Brody and Henderson rushed to Lucas who was very shocked. They tried to help him up but he just stared at Bridger in disbelief. "Don't you know me?" Lucas gasped.
"I don't know who the hell any of you are," Bridger said smugly. "But I expect we'll find out soon enough."
They followed his gaze. The room was now filled with an armed security detail. All weapons were trained on them. They shared confused looks. They were outnumbered and outgunned. The next move was up to the security team.
***
Ortiz had left the moonpool and was heading for the mess hall. He'd managed to miss lunch and he was starving. He came to a staircase and took the steps two at a time. Dagwood stood at the top of the stairs as if waiting for him. He was dressed in a bizarre black uniform that did not look unlike a Nazi SS uniform.
"Hey, Dags," Ortiz greeted him pleasantly, "Where'd ya get the funny suit?"
The GELF's eyes narrowed in anger. In a lightening like move that defied his size, he reached out and grabbed Ortiz' hair at the nape of his neck and began to slowly bend him over backwards. "Exactly what do you find so amusing?" This was not Dagwood's voice. The innocence had been replaced with a cold, calculating cruelty.
"AHHHH. Dagwood, stop it. That hurts!" Ortiz yelped as both his hair and his back felt like they were being yanked out of place.
"The name is Lt. Dagger."
Ortiz was angry by now, too. No matter how he struggled he could not escape the big man's grip. "What's the matter with you?!"
"You don't ask the questions here, Intruder. You answer them."
The Security Contingent arrived with the other three captives. One man stepped forward and saluted. He was obviously motivated by fear of the GELF. "All the intruders have been apprehended, Lt."
Lt Dagger shoved Ortiz into the other three. "Take this one too. Put them in the Captain's ward room. Post a guard on the door." With that he turned and left. This was no shambling janitor, he was every inch military. More that likely he was just as efficient a killing machine as the sharks and just as caring.
The captives were shoved forward and they followed the man who had reported to Lt Dagger. They were surrounded by heavily armed security guards. There was no chance of escape. They huddled together.
"You alright?" Henderson whispered to Ortiz.
"He tried to rip my head off," Ortiz was rubbing his sore neck and trying to comprehend his encounter with the GELF.
"What the hell is going on here?" Lucas said in what sounded like a sob and very nearly was.
"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Brody shook his head.
As they walked down the corridors they noticed a number of sharks swimming in the aquatubes.
They arrived at the Captain's ward room and were unceremoniously pushed inside. They'd all been in this room before. It looked rather like a conference room. There was a long table in the center of the room that was surrounded by chairs. The room seemed somehow more sterile than it usually did. The only decorative touch was a large UEO symbol on the wall at the head of the table. The strangeness of the situation intensified when they heard the door lock behind them. They clearly heard it lock but Brody, Ortiz and Lucas all felt the need to check it anyway.
'Men,' Henderson thought and shook her head . She wandered down to examine the UEO symbol. It didn't look quite right to her. Upon closer inspection she could see it wasn't right at all. For one thing the familiar trident pointed down not up. She got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Guys," she said somewhat hesitantly, "You'd better come have a look at this. It says that the UEO stands for Universal Enforcement Operations and this boat is their flagship and it's called the ConQuest." They gathered around and stared in disbelief.
"Anybody have any idea what's going on here?" Ortiz asked. He looked at Brody and Henderson but no answer was forthcoming. Soon all eyes fell on Lucas who had withdrawn into himself as he always did when trying to solve a problem.
"Alright, Lucas," Brody said "What are you not saying?"
"Well, I do have a theory but I don't think you'll like it."
"I don't like anything about this. What's your theory?" They'd all heard Lucas' theories before. As one they grabbed some seats around the table.
Lucas sat down too. He looked less than comfortable but he went on, "Well, it's not exactly my theory. Science has been entertaining ideas involving parallel universes since the birth of quantum physics."
"Science!" Brody interrupted, "That sounds more like science fiction."
"Unless you can come up with something better, I think we should hear him out." Henderson disagreed. "Go ahead, Lucas."
Lucas cleared his throat nervously, "Ah, the one used the most is the Wheeler, Everett, Graham Many World Theorem which basically states that anything that can happen does happen on any one of countless worlds." He looked up at them. He could tell they didn't understand. He tried again, "OK, for example, when I got up this morning I could have had any number of things for breakfast. I could have had pancakes or waffles or eggs or cereal or......"
"Please don't talk about food," Ortiz begged "I'm starving."
"How unusual?" Brody put in sarcastically.
"Knock it off, you two. Go on, Lucas," Henderson wanted some kind of explanation for what was going on.
"The point is, according to the theory, I had all those things...."
Ortiz moaned and put his head down on the table. The others ignored him.
"...That is, the Lucas on one world had pancakes. The Lucas on another world had waffles. Another Lucas might have skipped breakfast and ad infinitum. Do you see what I mean?"
"But what does that have to do with this situation?" Brody asked.
"The only logical explanation is that we've somehow wandered onto another world that parallels our own but with subtle differences."
"Some of them aren't so subtle," Ortiz rubbed his neck which was still sore from his run in with Lt Dagger.
"OK. Suppose we buy that," Brody said. He was on unfamiliar ground here and he didn't like it a bit. "How the hell did we get here? And more importantly, how do we get back to our own world and our own boat?"
"That's the part that doesn't fit," Lucas sighed. According to the Einstein-Rosen Bridge Theory we would have had to enter a black hole and exit a white hole to pass from one world to another."
"I thought black holes were just in space," Brody stated.
"There are some people that believe there's one in the Triangle and that's why things disappear," Lucas said.
"Is that why the instruments went haywire?" Henderson was trying to understand all this.
"Maybe," Lucas ceded "But the electro-magnetic disturbances in the Triangle are well documented."
"I thought it was supposed to be the Devil," Brody had still not lost his skepticism.
Lucas frowned at his sarcasm. There seemed little point in beating his head against a brick wall. "Didn't you have to learn these theories in school?" he asked in disgust.
Henderson whispered to Ortiz, "Did you learn this in school?"
"I must have been absent that day," Ortiz quipped.
***
This whole time they had been observed. In another part of the boat several interested parties were watching the seaQuest crewman closely. This part of the boat looked for all the world like Electronics Central. There were monitors, keyboards and other gadgets scattered all around the room. The person sitting at the monitor that was observing the prisoners was Ensign Piccolo. He was the Computer Specialist on the ConQuest. He wore coke bottle bottom glasses and other trappings of geekdom. He was whiney and asthmatic and had an IQ to rival Lucas'. He lived for computers and cared little about anything else - except the Captain with whom he was madly in love.
Also in the room was Captain Wendy Smith. She was aloof and detached. She regarded her crew as pawns in her game. She was totally self-serving and demanded complete control of every situation. The people on the monitor had her complete attention. She did not have control of these people, at least not yet. She was bound and determined that she soon would have.
Lt Dagger was also present. He cared to play no power struggle-like games with these people. He had no human ego to feed. He was head of security. He saw the intruders as a threat and wanted to simply eliminate them.
"There, you see," Piccolo said with frustration, "He's trying to explain things to them and they're so stupid all they can do is make jokes."
"Sounds like a cock and bull story to me," Dagger stated. "Let me go in there. I'll find out what they really want."
"Just because something is over your head doesn't make it a cock and bull story," Piccolo sniffed.
Dagger growled meaningfully at Piccolo.
"Thank you, Lt," Captain Smith intervened, "I will take your recommendations under advisement. Are you familiar with these theories, Ensign?"
"Yes, Captain, I am," Piccolo was eager to please her.
"Then I think I'll send you in. Make friends with this boy Lucas. Get them to trust you. I think that's the best way to learn the real reason they are here," the Captain's voice was cool and calculating.
"Captain, you can't be serious!" Dagger was astounded at this decision.
"Can't I, Lt?" the Captain asked coldly. She glared at him a minute then turned her attention to Piccolo. "Report to me when you have any information, Ensign."
"Yes, Captain!" Piccolo was ecstatic.
The captain turned and left.
Dagger glared at Piccolo menacingly, "Love sick little puppy."
Now that the Captain was no longer there to run interference for him he began feeling exceedingly nervous but tried to bluff bravado, "I'm obeying the Captain's orders. I suggest you do the same. It's her ship, don't forget."
Dagger grabbed Piccolo by the collar lifting him off the ground. His face was pure evil. He glared at his victim for a minute purposefully cutting off his air supply. Piccolo gasped helplessly. When he felt his point had been made he let him go. Once free Piccolo grabbed his aspirator and took several noisy hits off of it. The GELF looked satisfied. "Go ahead, Worm," he snarled, "See what you can find out. When you fail. I will succeed." He turned purposefully and left.
Piccolo was still fighting for breath. He rubbed his sore neck. He knew the GELF could easily have killed him.
***
When the door to the ward room opened all eyes were fixed on it. They stared even harder at the figure who entered. They almost recognized Tony Piccolo. The glasses, the geeky hairdo and the nervous attitude were all wrong but there was enough that was familiar that Lucas spoke his name.
"Tony?"
"That's Anthony - Ensign Piccolo to you," he said snidely and drew himself up to his full height.
"If the Piccolo on this world's an ensign, the Brody's gotta be at least an admiral," Brody laughed.
"That's right!" Henderson suddenly realized. "Where are our counterparts?"
"Maybe I could find out but they took my laptop, remember?" Lucas was still mad about that.
"You mean this toy?" Piccolo scoffed. He had been carrying it behind him. He'd already had the thing apart and examined it. He'd put a chip onto the motherboard that would allow him to download every scrap of info from this hard drive whenever he wanted. He'd have done it already except that the Captain had needed his assistance. He had their computer, he had them as far as he was concerned. He knew he'd glean more info from it than he - or anyone else- could get from the intruders themselves. Computers were far more reliable than people. No one on this boat but he appreciated that fact - well, this blond kid might. He handed him back the laptop. "You wanna see a real setup?" he asked boastfully.
Without waiting for an answer he walked up to the UEO symbol on the wall. He hit a hidden button and the symbol slid up to the ceiling revealing a large vidscreen and an impressive array of electronics including a keyboard.
Lucas pretended to be unimpressed, "Nothing I haven't seen before." He walked up to it. He fought to maintain his cool when he got close enough to really see it. "But I could really fly with a set-up like this!" he had to admit. He could not keep his hands off the keyboard.
"Not like that," Piccolo said mysteriously, "That's for the uninitiated." He picked up what looked like a telephone cord with a speaker jack on the end of it. He reached up and parted the hair behind his left ear revealing an input jack. He plugged the cord into his head and repeated the process with another cord on the other side.
Lucas was now in complete awe, "VERY COOL!"
Henderson looked sick. Ortiz leaned close to her, "Now I'm glad my stomach is empty," he whispered. She shot him a nasty look.
"Direct Cortex Interface," Piccolo said proudly.
"That's still science fiction where I come from," Lucas admitted.
"You're looking at the prototype," Piccolo bragged, "I volunteered for a UEO experiment. That's why I'm chief Computer Analyst on the ConQuest. Go ahead enter your name and we'll scan the UEO files for it."
Lucas typed his name in and it appeared on the screen.
"Wolenczak. That can't be too common. Let's see what I can find," Piccolo said.
On the vidscreen a barrage of images flashed by. There were text, graphics, schematics. All moved too quickly to be even seen by the seaQuest personnel but Piccolo was actually reading and comprehending all data. "Here we are," he said finally.
Brody, Ortiz and Henderson moved in closer for a better look. What looked like a newspaper article was on the screen. The headline read : Promising scientist and family killed by drunk driver. There was a picture of Lucas' father, mother and himself as a three year old. Suddenly Lucas felt lightheaded and had to sit down. Henderson put a supportive hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright, Lucas?"
"Sure." he gulped. "It's just unsettling reading your own obituary."
"OK , Ensign, find me," Brody demanded. He typed his name on the keyboard. Once more the images flashed by. It took even longer and finally the screen went dark.
"Sorry, Lt. I can't find a trace of you."
"What do you mean? I gotta be there. You found Lucas. Try again."
"Let me try something different. What's your father's name?"
"My mother was artificially inseminated. Try her name - it was Allyson Brody."
"So, your father was a petrie dish - eh?" Piccolo laughed.
Even their Tony had better taste than to make that particular joke. Brody had grown up with it so he was less steamed by it than the others but he was still annoyed. "Just get on with it, Cybergeek," he snarled.
Piccolo shot him a dirty look but images began to appear on the screen once more. They stopped on a medical file with Brody's mother's picture on it. The words NEW HOPE FERTILITY CLINIC were printed across the top of the file. The other SeaQuest crew members stole glances at Brody as he read the report. It stated that his mother had accepted the counselors advise against the procedure.
"I'm not just dead. I never was," he said quietly, unaware that he was speaking aloud. The sympathetic looks of the others made him uncomfortable.
Henderson sensed he needed the attention to be off of him so she stepped up and keyed her name in. Once more images flashed by. They stopped at her high school graduation photo.
"That's the last entry I find under your name," Piccolo said.
"Nothing more current? Try the obituaries," she suggested.
"I already did. Nada"
" I can't have just disappeared. Wait a minute. Check the marriage records."
"OK here goes."
Images flashed across the screen but for just a minute this time. Again there was a newspaper type photo and article about her wedding. The heading read : Mr. & Mrs. Edgar Halloway.
"How did you know?" Piccolo asked.
"Even on our world, when a woman marries her identity tends to disappear."
Lucas was confused, "But I thought getting married was what women wanted."
"That's not all we want. How about you, Miguel, are you planning to get married?"
All Ortiz' instincts for self preservation came into play. He strongly suspected he was being set up. At a time like this a guy had to be very careful about what he agreed to. "Yeah, I guess. Someday."
"But first you want to see the world? Live a little? Have fun?" she prompted.
"I suppose."
"Why is it so hard to understand that woman want the same thing?" She'd had this argument with every guy she'd ever met.
"Ah, Lonnie," Brody teased, "Ever hear of the old biological clock?"
"Ever hear of the old knuckle sandwich?" She was annoyed. She didn't care if he outranked her.
He stepped back and wisely decided to change the subject. "How about if we find Ortiz?"
Ortiz put in his name and more images blurred past. Suddenly they stopped on the frozen image of a young female TV reporter.
"Wow! We really got something this time," Piccolo enthused. He let the video play. The reporter was talking to the anchors at her station.
"As you know, John and Barbara, we are waiting outside the Dade County Corrections Center awaiting the transfer of a young Cuban gangleader named Miguel Ortiz."
Ortiz gasped. Piccolo let the news video continue.
"He is perhaps better known by his street name which is El Gato. He is considered quite a hero to the young people held in the immigration camps at the old Homestead Air Force Base. But in truth, he's little more than a common thug. He has an arrest record dating back to when he was seven years old, if you can believe such a thing. I say it's a good thing he's off the streets. I think we can all sleep a little easier knowing El Gato is safely in custody. Police have been interrogating him overnight and any minute now they should be moving him to a more secure facility. Oh, here they are now. Stay with me, Bob. I'm going to see if he'll talk to us."
The reporter joined the throng of reporters that had surrounded police officer and their prisoner the minute they had made their appearance. The prisoner's hands were securely cuffed behind him and his ankles were manacled together. He looked eerily like Miguel. He was dressed in camouflage fatigue pants and a tank top. He wore a headband with a picture of a jaguar on it. There was also a large jaguar tattooed to his arm. It covered him from shoulder blade to elbow. His most outstanding feature, however, were the ugly bruises on his face - signs of his recent interrogation. The reporter jammed her mic into his face. "El Gato," she panted as she ran alongside him trying to keep pace, "Is there anything you would like to say to the American public?"
"Yes, there is." He stopped and looked into the camera. "End the internment camps. Most of us were born there. We're not immigrants. Like it or not, we are American citizens, just like you."
"OK, kid, come on," one of the police officers interrupted, "We got no time for political speeches."
"You'd better make time, Pig. You'll be sorry of you don't!"
"You're in no position to make idle threats, Kitty Kitty," the policeman laughed.
El Gato's hands and feet were restrained but he refused to let such an insult go. He spat into the face of the offending officer. Suddenly all of the police became enraged. Several of them went at him with their batons beating him to the ground.
"My God!" Henderson gasped.
"I remember this," Piccolo said cavalierly, "The cops killed him. Beat him to death right on TV. It set off six days of riots. Miami was nearly destroyed. In the end nothing changed. The immigrants are still tossed into those camps."
Ortiz stared at the screen with disbelief. The color drained out of his face. He was witnessing his own murder.
Henderson noticed. "Turn it off!" she demanded.
Piccolo complied almost reluctantly breaking his bond with the computer.
"That explains why none of us are here. But I'm still not sure I buy this whole deal. Tell me, Ensign, why are you here? I'm sure it's not just to satisfy our curiosity," Brody stood up and approached Piccolo in a threatening manner.
"The Captain sent me," Piccolo slid his glasses back up his nose and tried not to look as nervous as he felt. He failed miserably.
"Captain Bridger?" Brody knew he had the advantage and he wasn't letting go.
"Captain Bridger?!" Piccolo laughed, "He wishes. Bridger is the XO. I suppose he thinks he should be captain. He did have a hand in designing the ConQuest, but he's too big a flake to ever make Captain."
"What's with him and those sharks?" Lucas asked.
"His pride and joy. They have implants in their brains that respond to a series of electrical impulses sent out by his wrist control. He's really obsessed with sharks. You'd think he'd hate them after he lost a foot to one. That's why he has the cane, but he's no cripple. Don't let him fool you," Piccolo explained.
Suddenly Lt.Dagger and a small security force burst into the room.
"Hey," Piccolo protested, "The Captain said I could handle this."
"You were handling it alright, Worm. You're supposed to be gathering information. So far, all you're doing is dispensing it. Get out of here. Time to let a professional take over."
"But the Captain said..."
"The Captain said...." Dagger imitated Piccolo's whiney voice. "Why don't you go tell her all about it?"
"Maybe I'll do just that."
Lt. Dagger bowed and made a grand gesture toward the door. "Be my guest."
Piccolo shoved his glasses back up his nose and left in a huff.
Dagger went up to one of the guards. "See that he's delayed." The guard nodded and followed Piccolo.
Dagger turned back to the seaQuest crew. He stared at them for a while then a smile of pure evil crossed his face. "Now let's see who you people really are." He slammed his right fist into his left palm in anticipation. He enjoyed his work.
Members of the security team grabbed them and lined them up along the wall. Lt. Dagger approached like a general reviewing his troops. He stopped in front of Brody.
Brody drew himself up to his full height but Dagger still towered over him. "Name, rank and serial number is all you'll get out of me," Brody told him with confidence. He'd been trained as a SEAL and he knew he cold endure torture. He wasn't sure about the others, particularly Lonnie and Lucas. They shouldn't have to if he could keep the goon's attention with his challenge.
"Oh, tough guy, huh?" Dagger was amused. "Don't ell me - you're the head of Security on your boat, right?"
"No," Brody was sarcastic, trying to bait him. "I'm the head chef."
"Suppose you tell me about this boat of yours." He wasn't taking the bait.
"Brody, James. Lt. 0269 04 578333."
Dagger was disgusted that his ploy had failed. He sensed he was dealing with someone who'd had training in what to do in this type of situation. It was unlikely he'd get anything out of him but he had three other little birds in his grasp. "You're Security alright, I can smell it.. No point in wasting any more time with you. I'm sure I'll have better luck with some of your friends."
"I'm the commanding officer. You deal with me!" Brody demanded.
Dagger ignored him and walked up to Henderson. He eyed her and she stared right back at him defiantly. His instincts told him she wouldn't break either and he couldn't risk a failure in front of his men. "You're a woman. What could you know?"
He continued down the line and stopped in front of Lucas. Lucas was trying to look as brave as the others but the experienced interrogator saw through him. "You're like that sniveling Piccolo," he laughed cruelly, "You'd faint before I got any information out of you."
Lucas narrowed his eyes but said nothing. That's what Lonnie had done although what the big man had said had angered her too. Lucas had had no training, he could only mimic what the others did.
Lt. Dagger moved on and stopped in front of Ortiz. He studied him carefully, sizing him up, looking for a weakness. The cold, calculating GELF could never understand the fiery Cuban who was more guided by emotion than intellect at the moment. Like his counterpart, Ortiz spit into the face of the authority figure. Instead of flying into an uncontrolled rage the GELF simply smiled evilly, "So you want to play, huh?"
The security men holding Ortiz tightened their grip. Lt. Dagger made a fist and slammed it loudly into the palm of his other hand in an attempt to intimidate Ortiz. "You sure you don't want to cooperate?"
"Ortiz, Miguel. Chief 0724 91 865546," Ortiz glared at the big man. He wasn't a SEAL but he'd dealt with bullies in the past. He'd never folded before. He wouldn't fold now.
Lt. Dagger stepped closer to Ortiz eclipsing him from the others' sight. They saw him bring his fist back and heard the sound of a loud blow. The first of many.
Lucas was shocked. He'd always been sheltered from this kind of thing. He looked at the others. Brody was angry. Henderson was at once frightened and furious, "Leave him alone, you animal!" she shouted.
"Easy, Lonnie," Brody whispered. He didn't want the fool to start working her over.
Dagger interrogated Ortiz, implying that the beating would stop as soon as he cooperated. He demanded to know who they were and who they were working for. Ortiz' only response was the occasional groan. He showed no sign of knuckling under to Dagger's wishes.
It was a Mexican Standoff till the door suddenly burst opened. Captain Wendy Smith stormed into the room followed by Piccolo who was looking very pleased with himself.
"What is the meaning of this, Lt?" she demanded.
Lt. Dagger turned around to face her. He was obviously annoyed by her interference. "I'm doing my job," he said simply.
"Your job, Lt," she said coldly "is to obey my orders. Since you have chosen to do otherwise, you may confine yourself to your quarters until such time as I care to deal with you. Do I make myself clear?"
"Perfectly, Captain."
"You are dismissed. All Security - clear the room at once," she ordered.
Dagger hesitated, obviously disagreeing with her decision but then turning crisply and heading out the door. The Security men who had been holding Ortiz shoved him face down across the conference table but he slid to the floor anyway. The security team followed the Lt. out the door.
Henderson rushed to him followed closely by Brody and Lucas. They gently rolled him over onto his back. He groaned when they moved him. He appeared stunned but he was still conscious. His face was badly battered.
"My God, Miguel! Are you alright?" She looked up at Captain Smith. She had to lash out at someone. "What the hell kind of a boat are you running here?!"
"I'm sorry," the Captain said in a businesslike voice. "This should never have happened. Piccolo, go get O'Neill. J D has screwed up the intercom again. Be a dear and fix it."
"Sure thing, Captain," Piccolo agreed eagerly and left.
Henderson was fussing over Ortiz trying to make him more comfortable and stop his nose from bleeding. Captain Smith leaned over her shoulder. "How is he?"
"I'm not sure. He needs a doctor."
"The doctor is on the way. Is there anything I can do?"
"That's rich," Brody scoffed. "You send in your goon with his Gestapo tactics and now you wanna be friends."
Captain Smith straightened up deliberately and stared Brody down. "He's not 'my goon'. He came with the boat and that's where his loyalties lie. That's something I have to deal with but make no mistake, Lt, I am the captain."
"I don't know. It sure looks like the Security Chief is running the show."
"Appearances can be deceiving, Lt, as you must know by now. After all, when you first got here, you thought this was the seaQuest........"
"How the hell did you know about the seaQuest? No one has mentioned it."
"She's reading our minds," Lucas said.
Captain Smith suddenly reacted as if she'd been slapped but she easily recovered. "Don't be silly, Lucas. No one can read minds. All the spyers were lobotomized years ago."
"You can and you do!" Brody jumped on it. "Is that your dirty little secret, Captain? Suppose word got out to your crew? All you gotta do is let us go to assure that doesn't happen."
"Don't threaten me, Lt......."
Before their sparring match could continue the door opened and O'Neill entered carrying a medkit. This was not the bespectacled, nervous O'Neill that they knew. This man was charming and debonair and every inch the lady killer. He eyed Henderson immediately and smiled.
"This is the patient, Doctor," the Captain said sardonically, pointing to Ortiz.
O'Neill smiled even more warmly at Henderson as she stood up to allow him to examine Ortiz. O'Neill put on a show of examining him mainly to make points with Henderson. She had stopped the nosebleed but one of Ortiz' eyes was swollen nearly shut and there was a cut on his temple which O'Neill bandaged. He checked his pupils and ears and took a stethoscope out of his kit. As he pressed it to Ortiz' chest and listened to his heartbeat he looked up and smiled at Henderson; far more interested in her.
"Hey, that thing is cold," Ortiz objected.
O'Neill pulled it away and addressed Henderson, "Don't worry, miss. Your boyfriend will be fine."
"Thanks, but he's not my boyfriend."
That was what O'Neill wanted to hear. He stood up never taking his eyes off Henderson. He now stood uncomfortably close. "How about you, my dear. Is there anything I can do for you?" he flirted.
Henderson no longer found his smile friendly. She stepped back. "Not in a million years," she said in disgust.
Before O'Neill could respond the vid screen blared on. J D Ford was on the screen. He was not wearing a uniform. He sported a loud Hawaiian shirt and wore a backwards baseball cap. "Yo! Cap," he says simply.
"That's Captain and please turn the volume down. We are not deaf!" The Captain was thoroughly disgusted.
"Sorry about that, man," Ford is not phased by the rebuke at all. He doesn't seem to have noticed it. He adjusted the volume.
"What is it, Mister Ford?" the Captain asked with mock patience.
It took Ford a minute to answer. "Oh! You mean me. Had me looking around for my dad there for a minute." he laughed.
"What did you want?" the Captain repeated.
"Let's see here. The little dude fixed my board," he said while rifling through some papers.
"That is obvious, isn't it?" the Captain said though clenched teeth.
"Good one, Cap," he laughed "But that wasn't it. It was something else. Oh, here it is. That storm - the one you wanted me to keep you posted on? Well, it's closin' in on us. We should hit it in 30 minutes." He looked up from the paper he was reading.
The Captain now seemed preoccupied, "OK, JD, thank you. That will be all."
"Gotcha, Cap. This is JD Ford. Over and out."
The screen went dark. The Captain could not hide her frustration. "Ohhhh. If his father didn't fund us so well in exchange for keeping him I swear I'd jettison him into the deepest trench I could find and just watch until the bubbles stopped coming up, which in his case, would probably be hours. Come on, Doctor. Your work here is finished," the Captain walked toward the door but O'Neill moved closer to Henderson.
"It'd be no problem at all for me to override security and have you transferred to Mdebay. We could have a nice dinner and afterwards...."
"In your dreams, Pal. Get lost!" she flared.
O'Neill was nonplused, "A challenge. I do love a challenge."
"Are you coming, Doctor?" the Captain asked impatiently.
O'Neill turned the charm on her. "Why surely, Captain. You know I live to serve."
After they left Henderson was still furious. Ortiz was attempting to get up. She helped him into one of the chairs, "Do you believe that man?!"
"I don't know, Lonnie. I think you made a big mistake not going with him," Ortiz' voice sounded somewhat weak.
She wondered if he had a concussion but was still too angry at O'Neill to react with much kindness, "Are you CRAZY?!"
"He offered you food. I would have gone," he shrugged
She knew now that he was joking and turned to glare at him. But suddenly gasped instead.
"What is it?" He began to feel self conscious.
"Your face it's..it's.."
"Thanks," he complained.
"No, it's just that...look at him. He looks just like that other guy."
"She's right! The bruises are exactly like El Gato's before he was killed and on this world most of us are supposed to be dead!" Lucas picked up her thoughts exactly.
"One way or another, this world is going to kill us!!!" Lonnie felt panicky.
"Calm down, Lonnie. This world is NOT going to kill us," Brody said firmly. "I've been thinking, Lucas. Could our being here have anything to do with that storm we went through?"
"I've been thinking the same thing. Maybe if we could get out in it. I think this boat is too big to be affected but if we could get back to the shuttle....."
"I say we try for it. Now that Dagger's out of the way for a while this may be our best shot. Everybody game?" Brody asked.
"I want OUT of here," Henderson said.
"I agree," Lucas put in.
"What about you, Miguel. Do you feel up to it?" Brody questioned.
Ortiz seemed to be thinking it over. "You think they are planning on feeding us anytime soon?"
"I'll make you dinner when we get home. After all, I am the head chef," Brody laughed.
***
Captain Smith approached Commander Bridger in one of the corridors deep in the belly of the boat. He let her come to him.
"You were right," she said simply, "Let's let them be shot trying to escape." She walked off without looking at him.
He watched her disappear around a corner. Contempt was written all over his face. "Of course, I'm right. They were dead the minute they set foot on my boat," he said cruelly.
***
Inside the Captain's ward room Ortiz was lying on the floor. He appeared to be dead. Lucas knelt by his side. He looked very worried. Brody stood behind the door with one of the heavy medal chairs at the ready. He nodded at Henderson. She began to bang frantically on the door.
"Help! HELP. Come quick. We have a medical emergency!!"
The door opened and the security guard stepped inside. "What's all the ruckus? What's wrong?"
"It's my friend. I think he's dead. Come here and take a look." She pulled the guard into the room. In one motion Brody slammed the door shut with his hip and beaned the guard with the chair. The guard crumbled to the ground unconscious. Brody took his rifle and handed Henderson his sidearm. Lucas and Ortiz joined them at the door. Lucas had his beloved laptop tucked securely under his arm. Brody looked at each of them.
"Ya ready?" Brody looked at each one. They all nodded. He cracked the door opened and looked furtively out into the corridor. "OK, it's clear. Come on."
Brody took the point followed by Lucas, then Ortiz. Henderson brought up the rear as she had the other weapon. She appreciated the fact that Brody had given the weapon to her even though she was a woman. She was the next in rank. She was also a much better shot than Ortiz.
They made their way through the boat grabbing whatever cover they could. They stopped for a minute in a darkened alcove. "I don't like it," Brody hissed, "Where is everyone?"
"Probably having dinner," Ortiz said longingly. His joke relieved the tension for a minute. Ortiz' sense of humor had alleviated many situations. Ortiz took his job of clown seriously. That didn't mean he wasn't starving, however, because he was.
Brody smiled for a split second then slipped back into commando mode. He stepped out into the hallway but then jumped back pushing them into the alcove behind him. "Someone's coming."
They all held their breath and soon they heard what he had heard. J D Ford was coming down the corridor toward them. He was wearing a walkman and 'drumming' on the walls. He was either singing or suffering from a toothache, Brody couldn't be sure which but since he was drumming on every wall it was only a matter of time before he came face to face with them. When he got close enough, Brody half stepped from the covering shadows.
Ford's eyes fell on the rifle pointed at him. "Oh man!" He raised his hands. "Don't shoot! I'm cool."
"What do we do with him, Lt," Henderson asked, menacing Ford with her gun. He was afraid of her.
"We'll take him with us as a hostage. If we run into trouble we may need a bargaining chip," Brody decided. He started out once more. Lucas looked around and followed. Ortiz and Henderson each took one of Ford's arms. Henderson stuck her gun into Ford's jawline.
"Make one sound and it'll be your last," she said coldly.
He nodded that he understood.
When they stopped again Henderson conferred with Brody. Ford whispered to Ortiz,
"Hey man, my father's rich. Let me go. He'll make it worth your while. You could be rich beyond your wildest dreams."
"I don't know. My wildest dreams are pretty wild," Ortiz toyed with him.
"Doesn't matter, man. I can arrange it," Ford promised.
Henderson looked back at them and shushed them. Ortiz shrugged at Ford. Part of him delighted in teasing this man in a way he could never do with his counterpart on the seaQuest.
They moved out again. They were approaching what should have been a busy area. Again they saw no one. "I don't like it," Brody said. "This area should be crawling with people."
"You think it's a trap?" Lucas strove to keep his voice from cracking.
"I don't know. Why would they bother with a trap? Why wouldn't they just capture us? You guys wait here. I'm going to scout on ahead."
"I don't think we should split up," Henderson said nervously.
"Neither do I but one person can move quicker than five. If I'm not back in three minutes, you guys get to the shuttle and get out. That's an order!" He turned and left without looking back. If he was spotted he planned to leave the chase away from the others and away from their objective.
Henderson exchanged a worried look with Lucas. Then they both stared down the corridor willing him to return. He did not.
Ortiz watched the time. The three minutes passed. This was going to be a hard decision for anyone to make but particularly Lonnie. This was her first tour. She didn't have the experience. They certainly wouldn't have covered this situation in officers' training. He'd make it for her. "It's time."
Henderson and Lucas looked at him. He was blunt. "If he's not back it means he ran into trouble. They'll be looking for us. We gotta MOVE!" He shoved Ford into Lucas and took the point. They continued on toward the launch bay.
Suddenly Lt. Dagger stepped out of an intersecting corridor and blocked their path. His sudden appearance elicited a gasp from Henderson.
"You guys go on. I'll take care of him." Ortiz said calmly.
"How?!" Henderson demanded incredulously.
Ortiz reached down and pulled a large knife out of his boot.
"How long have you had that?!" Henderson was thoroughly confused
"Since I was twelve," he said absently. He wasn't really paying attention to her. He wasn't the clown of the seaQuest any more. He was the tough street kid he had once been before he'd seen the errors of the gang lifestyle. He assumed a fighting stance, "Go on. Get out of here. I got a pig to stick." His voice was hard and his accent prevalent.
"That's right, Little Man," Dagger said slowly, deliberately, "We do have some unfinished business."
"This time though, it's mano a mano," Ortiz had a wicked glint in his eye. He appeared to be enjoying this encounter. He and Dagger began to circle one another. They were both completely oblivious to their surroundings. Each one was intent on the kill. They'd forgotten the other seaQuest personnel were even there. They continued to circle till Dagger's back was to Lonnie.
"This is ridiculous!" she spat. She pointed her sonic blaster at Dagger and squeezed the trigger. She was surprised that she had to empty the entire charge before the big man collapsed.
"Hey!" Ortiz yelled at her angrily, "I could have taken him!"
"We don't have time for that, Mister." She was equally angry and reminded him she held the rank. "We've got a storm to catch. Remember?!" She stormed past him taking the point herself.
Ortiz still had his knife in his hand. He and Lucas grabbed Ford and followed her.
***
Brody had found the way clear all the way to Sea Deck. Since that was an excellent place for an ambush he decided to take a quick look around. He stepped inside, his eyes constantly moving - ever on the lookout for trouble. Although he was alert, there was something he didn't see as he passed through a particularly dark area. A large cargo hook on a chain suspended from the ceiling hit him squarely between the shoulders. The blow was hard enough to cause him to stumble and send his rifle flying out of his hands. It landed on the catwalk over the shark tank. Brody caught himself before he fell and spun around ready to fight.
Bridger stepped out of the shadows. "I've been expecting you. This is the end of the line. The only way off this boat is through me."
"If that's the way you want it, Old Man."
Brody's jibe worked. Bridger's hot temper flared and he lunged at Brody. Brody easily countered knocking Bridger to the deck. Brody attempted to mount the steps to the catwalk to retrieve his rifle but Bridger's reflexes were quicker than Brody expected. Bridger grabbed his ankle knocking him to the catwalk. Again they exchanged blows. This time Brody's terror of sharks worked against him and soon Bridger had the advantage. He held his cane across Brody's throat pushing him steadily backwards towards the sharks that circled in the tank a few feet below them. Brody desperately grabbed at Bridger. His hand closed on Bridger's ID/access card badge and he ripped it from his shirt. Bridger didn't notice, he was so intent on pushing Brody into the tank. He didn't notice Henderson and the others enter either.
"Lonnie, shoot!" Ortiz urged.
"I can't. I emptied the charge on Lt. Dagger," she admitted miserably.
Lucas ran forward and mounted the catwalk. He hesitated just a minute as this man looked so much like his Bridger but a choking sound from Brody decided it. He hit Bridger hard in the back of his head with his laptop, smashing it. Bridger was in a precarious position. He lost his balance and took a header into the shark tank.
Henderson screamed. Lucas helped Brody up. He couldn't look into the tank. The man's resemblance to someone who was like a second father to him had him upset by his actions.
"Let's get out of here," Brody said rubbing his sore neck where the cane had nearly crushed it.
Ortiz and Henderson flung Ford to the ground and ran up to the launch bay door. Lucas and Brody followed. Henderson had reached the door first. She struggled with it for only a minute before she swore, "Damn! It's sealed."
"No problem." Brody said. He still had Bridger's access card in his hand. He slid it down the track releasing the seal.
***
Inside the shuttle Henderson and Brody jumped behind the controls. Lucas sat behind Brody as before but Ortiz got down on the floor on his back and yanked the access panel off the wall under the sensor station.
"What the hell are you doing? Strap in! We gotta MOVE. They are bound to target us with missiles," Henderson yelled at him with exasperation as she skillfully piloted the shuttle out of the bay and into the open ocean.
Ortiz was busy pulling down wires and making splices, "Only if they can find us."
"You know some way to make us invisible?" Brody asked.
"Next best thing. I'll give 'um hundreds of phantoms."
"What?" Brody wondered if he'd been hit in the head harder than they thought.
"Deflect and multiply our signal on their sensor screen," Ortiz explained, still working feverishly on his plan.
"No wonder you scored 100 on your exam," Brody did not hide the sense of awe he felt.
***
On the Sea Deck of the ConQuest, Bridger emerged unscathed from the shark tank. He cast a disgusted look at Ford who still huddled on the deck where they had flung him. He was quaking with fear and talking senselessly to himself. Bridger walked up to the intercom.
"Bridger to Weapons Control. When that shuttle clears the boat blow it to kingdom come!" he ordered.
***
On the bridge of the ConQuest this world's McKenna was watching the sensor screen.
"I need targeting information on that shuttle," the Weapons Officer yelled at her.
There were hundreds of blips on her screen. "Which one?" she asked helplessly. The sensor data was on the main screen. Captain Smith was at the conn. She jumped to her feet furiously. "Those sons a.... Shoot them ALL!!!" Her crew was confused and she was about to lose it. She could not accept the fact that she'd been outwitted.
***
Inside the shuttle Lucas was watching the sensor screen.. "Here comes another but it's way off course." He watched the latest missile fired from the ConQuest sail harmlessly by.
"We're about out of range," Brody said, "But why aren't they giving pursuit?"
Suddenly the shuttle started to rock. "That's why," Henderson told them, "Our friend the storm.
Brody also took helm controls to help Henderson but a red light on the control panel caught his attention. "Uh oh."
"Now what?" Henderson fought to keep her composure.
"Looks like the oxygen regenerators were damaged in the storm. We're operating on reserves and they're about out," he told them honestly.
***
Onboard the seaQuest time was ticking away with maddening slowness. It had been hours since there was any sign of the lost shuttle. It had virtually disappeared. Hope was getting harder to hold on to.
McKenna was still manning the sensor station. She was staring hard at the screen but it was still blank. Captain Bridger came and looked over her shoulder. He was no longer trying to hide his worry. He'd had a shuttle disappear without a trace carrying four crew members one of whom was very special to him.
"I'm sorry, Captain, still no sign of them," McKenna said softly.
He nodded and turned away. The minute his back was turned the screen came alive with hundreds of signals. "Captain!" McKenna called.
***
Inside the shuttle, Lucas, Brody and Henderson had all passed out. Ortiz was still on the floor holding the wires in place that would create the cover for them. He was too groggy to notice that the others had passed out or that the rocking had stopped. He was concentrating on what he was doing and nothing else. Eventually the lack of oxygen overcame him too and he passed out. The hand that had been held up in the access panel flopped onto his chest.
***
Bridger and McKenna stared as all the blips but one suddenly blinked out.
"We got um!" Bridger said triumphantly. "Helm, lay in these coordinates. All ahead full!"
Bridger returned to his chair.
"ETA about ten minutes, sir," the helmsman reported.
"They don't answer the hail, sir. And I'm reading oxygen levels that are negligible," O'Neill tried to fight down the panic he felt.
"Prepare grappler for undersea rescue. Med team to launch bay. Priority Code One," Bridger barked.
***
Commander Ford climbed into the cockpit of shuttle MR 6. He was very concerned. All of the occupants were unconscious. He checked each of them for neck pulses. They were alive. By this time Dagwood had climbed in behind him.
"Ugh! The air is really bad in here," Ford said, "We have to get them out!"
Dagwood went over to where Ortiz was lying on the floor. He noticed the bruises and felt very sympathetic, "Oh no! What happened to Ortiz?" he asked.
Ford was unstrapping Lucas who was the closest to him. "He wasn't strapped in. By the looks of this shuttle they've been through some pretty rough turbulence. He must have gotten thrown around and banged up. Let's get them out to Wendy." He picked up Lucas in a fireman's carry. Two more men were at the cockpit entrance. "Get the other two. On the double!" he commanded them.
***
Out on SeaDeck med teams had been assembled. Bridger and Wendy waited nervously, as did Tony and O'Neill.
As Ford carried Lucas out, Wendy and Bridger rushed up to him. "He's alive. They all are but they're out cold. The air is bad in there," Ford reported.
"Put him down over here. Let me examine him," Wendy told him. She indicated the area where the medical equipment had been set up. She supported his head as Ford eased him to the deck. Tony and Bridger looked on while she began her examination.
The two launch bay techs brought out Henderson and Brody and turned them over to med techs for treatment. O'Neill approached the area but tried to stay out of the way. His concern was very obvious.
Dagwood came out of the shuttle carrying Ortiz. He was trying to move slowly so that he did not unduly jostle him. His efforts were in vane. Ortiz did jostle awake. As his vision cleared he looked up into the face he thought belonged to Lt. Dagger. He rolled out of the GELF's grasp and landed crouched in a fighting stance. He grabbed the illegal knife from his boot.
"Alright, ya big creep," he snarled, "let's finish what we started. You'll never lay a hand on me again."
Dagwood was totally confused, "Miguel, I would never hurt you. You are my friend." Dagwood took a step toward him extending his hand in friendship. Ortiz slashed at him savagely. Dagwood's superior reflexes enabled him to avoid the knife but he did not understand this attack at all.
Both Bridger and Wendy came up behind Dagwood. Bridger pulled him back and stepped in front of him, "It's alright, Mr. Ortiz. Put the knife down," he said calmly.
"In a pig's eye I will!" Ortiz yelled. He menaced Bridger with the knife but suddenly began to feel light headed. He had to grab the wall for support.
"Let me help you," Bridger's voice remained calm. His concern for the young man was stronger than his fear for his own safety. He took a tentative step toward the injured man.
Brody had also awakened. He still had the rifle he'd put over his shoulder. He slid it into firing position as he jumped to his feet and ran to Ortiz. He grabbed the swaying Ortiz with one hand and pointed the rifle at Bridger's chest with the other, "Back off, Bridger!"
Henderson had also awakened. She saw O'Neill hovering over her. She sat up. "You really think you're God's gift to women, don't you?" Without warning she delivered a sharp upper cut to his jaw which sent him sprawling on the deck.
He sat back up holding his jaw and looking slightly dazed. "Actually, that thought has never occurred to me at all," he admitted.
Brody still had Bridger at bay. He saw Henderson sit up. "Lonnie, get Lucas and come on! Anybody tries to stop them and I blow Bridger's damn head off!"
Henderson went over to where Lucas was just starting to wake up. "Come on, Lucas. Let's get out of here."
Tony was next to Lucas. He put a hand on his shoulder trying to restrain him. "He ain't ready to go anywhere."
Lucas shook Tony's hand off. "Buzz off, Cybergeek." Lucas ignored his confusion and got up and followed Henderson to Brody and Ortiz. Ortiz looks even weaker now and Henderson also tried to support him.
"We'll take one of their shuttles this time." Brody decided "Come on!"
Wendy stepped up next to Bridger. She was very concerned. "Ortiz is hurt. He needs medical attention." She tried to reason with them.
"We know what kind of medical attention he'd get on this boat," Brody scoffed. "And STOP reading my mind. She can do that, you know," he addressed Bridger.
"We know that, Jim," Bridger tired to keep him calm.
"This is the SeaQuest," Wendy assured him.
"You expect us to believe that! We know it's a trap." Brody trained the rifle on them and Bridger pulled Wendy away to confer with her.
"What do you think? Is this the result of oxygen deprivation?" he asked.
"They're confused and combative. It could be some kind of psychosis but they really think they are on some other ship and that we are some other people."
"Mass hallucinations?" Bridger questioned farther.
Brody had been moving the group toward the launch bay.
"I don't know," Wendy confessed, "but they are a danger to themselves and others. We can't let them leave the boat."
Bridger nodded and returned to confront Brody. "I can't let you leave, Lt."
"You can't stop us." Brody once more leveled his rifle at Bridger's chest.
The tension in the air was thick. Bridger wouldn't budge. Brody just might shoot. There were no armed security men present. Suddenly Darwin leapt up out of the moonpool.
<Lucas Play?> he chirped.
Lucas was overjoyed nearly to the point of tears. "DARWIN!!! It's Darwin! We're home!!" He and Henderson embraced joyfully.
Brody looked stunned. Just then Ortiz' knees buckled and he started to collapse. Brody was able to support him enough that he didn't go crashing to the deck. The two slid down together. He looked up at Bridger still not quite sure. "You're Captain Bridger?" he asked in a small voice.
"Yes, Jim." Bridger assured him.
Brody took the knife out of Ortiz' hand and slid it and his rifle aside. "I guess we're in big trouble." He expected to be arrested.
"You're not in any trouble." Bridger extended his hand to Brody to help him up. "Come on. Let Wendy treat Ortiz."
***
Within the hour Lucas, Brody and Ortiz were in the ward area of Medbay. They were each in bed but sitting up and eating from trays that were in front of them. (Especially Ortiz who had sworn it was hunger that had caused him to pass out.) Lonnie had been wheeled in from her room by O'Neill. She was also eating. They took turns telling about their time on the ConQuest. Tony sat in a chair next to Lucas. Ford stood near Brody. Wendy and Bridger were also present and listening to the fantastic tale.
"And you were the computer specialist." Lucas said to Tony.
"Your job?" Tony found it hard to picture himself in that capacity.
"Oh, you were better than me," Lucas said around a mouthful of food." You had these ports drilled into your skull and you could access the computer by Direct Cortex Interface. Your brain plugged right into the computer. It was the coolest thing I ever saw!"
"I may be sick," Tony muttered.
"Lt O'Neill was the ship's doctor?" Wendy asked.
"Yeah," Henderson commented, "And what a womanizing slimeball!"
"Really?" O'Neill wasn't sure he totally disliked that idea.
"I hated you." Henderson informed him.
"Well, if O'Neill was the doctor, who was Wendy?" Ford asked
"She was the Captain." Brody told him.
"The Captain," Wendy laughed. "What about Captain Bridger?"
"He wasn't the Captain. He was the XO," Brody explained.
"And what a weirdo he was." Lucas picked up the story. "He had this thing for sharks. He trained them. I think he was obsessed with them. Even though they had bitten his foot off."
"Thanks a lot," Bridger remarked sourly.
"What about me?" Ford had to ask "Was I there?"
"You were there alright," Brody laughed, "And what a Class A screw up you were!"
"What?!"
"It's true Commander," Lucas agreed, "You were supposed to be the Communications guy but you kept breaking the system. You could barely control the volume."
"Hey, don't knock him. He offered to make me rich beyond my wildest dreams," Ortiz put in.
"You weren't really considering that bribe, were you?" Lucas asked.
"Naw, I was just yankin' his chain. His old man's money didn't interest me. If he'd have offered me food, however," Ortiz laughed but then became serious. He actually shuddered before he continued, "Lt. Dagger, he's the one I still hate."
"Lt. Dagger?" Bridger asked.
Ortiz had gone back to eating so Brody took up the story. "He was the head of security. He was the one that rearranged Ortiz' face."
"Who was he?" Ford asked but before any one could tell him Dagwood came in with a tray of food. He brought it to Ortiz. Ortiz instinctively stiffened at the sight of him.
"I brought you more food, Miguel. One tray is never enough for me either," Dagwood said.
The tense moment passed. Ortiz relaxed and smiled, "Thanks, Dags."
"You're going to explode," Henderson warned as Ortiz dug into the second tray as eagerly as he had the first.
"I told you I was starving. I haven't eaten since breakfast."
"Well, who's fault is that?" Brody asked. "You could have gotten lunch at UEO headquarters but you had to got to the beach. Remember?"
"That's right, Mr. Ortiz," Bridger suddenly remembered. Their exam results had been forwarded to seaQuest but, at the time, they were involved in the search. "I wanted to congratulate you for making outstanding score."
"It wasn't like that at all, Captain" Ortiz protested hotly "All we did was play volleyball!"
Bridger looked confused.
"That's right. I was supposed to ask you about the University of Miami Girls' Volleyball Team," O'Neill remembered.
Ortiz just laid back against his pillows, "I'm feeling tired all of a sudden. Can we talk later?" He now realised that the Captain had been referring to his test results - not his 'date'. He'd nearly put his foot in it that time. He'd have to be more careful.
"I think it's time they all got some rest," Wendy agreed. "Everybody out. Tim take Lonnie back to her own room."
The gathering broke up and she walked into her office. Bridger followed.
"That's quite a story," he chuckled.
"Are you so sure it's a story. To them it's very real." Wendy turned around and opened the filing cabinet. She knew where this conversation was going. She'd run into the solid wall of Nathan Bridger's skepticism before.
"Oh, I'm sure they believe what they are saying. But come on, Wendy, Bermuda Triangle- parallel universes - I'm not quite prepared to accept that they went through the looking glass, are you? I'm a man of science. I need tangible proof."
She had taken the ConQuest Bridger's badge out of the filing cabinet where she'd put it for safekeeping. "You mean like this?" she asked 'innocently'. She handed him the badge.
Bridger examined it closely. He had no explanation for it. When he looked up he caught sight of a distorted image of himself in a darkened computer monitor. There were likenesses and differences just as there were with the picture on the ID. The ID was tangible proof.
"Maybe we can go through the looking glass," he commented quietly, trying to imagine the consequences of accepting that possibility.
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