Disclaimer: I don't own them, and sadly, I never will. But I can at least borrow them, right? Anyway, I think Amblin Entertainment owns the SeaQuest and all of her crew. Kara's mine though.
Author note; This is the beginning of a story I started a while back. I've finally gotten around to posting it! More will be up soon as I can get it done. Also, I want to send out a BIG thank you to Gryffyn for beta-ing for me!!! Thanks!!!
What Means The Most
By JediK1
Lucas sat at his computer, playing the newest video game. It wasn't even supposed to be on the market yet, but being a hacker had its advantages. Sometimes you earned a favor in a high place. Smiling to himself, he got back to shooting the bad guys.
His fun was interrupted, however, when he heard a light knock on his door.
Quickly, Lucas shut the game down, and called, "Come in!"
The face that popped through the doorway was that of Captain Nathan Hale Bridger, commander of the SeaQuest. He wore a smile that ranged from one ear to the other. Lucas knew that grin, and instead of being curious, he was slightly afraid of what the man might be thinking. "Uh, what's up Captain?"
"Lucas, Admiral Noyce will be on board any minute. Come on, we gotta get moving."
"That's today? Why do I even have to go? I'm not military personnel."
"He's here to inspect the boat, and the crew that runs her. Since you are part of that crew, like it or not, you have to come too. Now, throw on something presentable and we'll get our butts down to the shuttle bay."
"What's wrong with what I've got on?" Lucas's attention alternated between the captain and his clothes.
Sure, they were a little wrinkled, with maybe a stain or two, but his job wasn't to be military-type squeaky clean.
"You're a smart kid, figure it out," was the sarcastic response.
"Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes." The teen's exasperated sigh filled the cabin. 'When was the last time I did laundry?'
"That's okay, I'll walk with you." Bridger smiled slightly as he watched Lucas mutter something under his breath and began his search for something clean to wear. He really needed to talk to the teen about the condition of his quarters, seeing as how the focus of the search was on the floor.
Stepping out to let Lucas change, he smiled again. The kid may be messy, but he was good to have around when a problem with one of the computers came up. He was also good company. At times he reminded Nathan so much of his son Robert. The strange part was, they were so different. But Lucas had somehow managed to ease the pain he felt for the loss of his son, and for that, he would always be grateful to Lucas.
A few moments later, the door opened and out stepped Lucas, changed from the slightly baggy jeans and baseball tee to the same jeans and a turtleneck. Nathan sighed and shook his head. "It'll have to do. Come on."
The two began walking in a comfortable silence. Then, Lucas turned to Bridger. "Captain, why is Noyce coming anyway? Don't they usually send some stuck up inspector or something?"
"Actually, it's more of a personal visit. But we were due for an inspection, so Bill thought he would just do it himself. Figured it was a good excuse to get out office and down here. It'll be good to see him
again." Lucas noted the genuine fondness of the last statement and felt pleased that the older man had insisted he come along. He viewed Bridger as a second father, and he liked when the captain was happy. Lucas figured the man had been through enough pain already, and he deserved to feel something other than grief.
Soon they arrived at the shuttle bay. The senior staff was already there, decorated in their dress uniforms for the "official" visit of the Admiral. Captain Bridger, also in dress uniform, took his place at the head of two lines running on either side of the ramp that would take the Admiral away
from his shuttle. Lucas went and stood at the end of the right-side line next to Ben Kreig. The ship's supply and morale officer tended to come up with odd get-rich-quick schemes that often got Lucas in to trouble, but the teen didn't mind. He enjoyed getting into trouble with Ben, even if he did
end up on the receiving end of one of the Captain or Kristin's infamous lectures afterward. He flashed Ben a quick smile, and was preparing to talk to the man when a whistle sounded and the crew snapped to attention, announcing the arrival of Admiral Noyce.
The hatch opened, and Admiral Bill Noyce of the UEO finished climbing the ladder. He stood on the deck, the smile on his face directed at the captain. Then, he reached back down the ladder to help someone. A moment later, a light-brown head emerged from the hatch. A young woman, Lucas
guessed her to be somewhere around his own age, moved next to Noyce. Her long, light-brown hair hung in a high ponytail, leaving her tanned face clear. Large brown eyes swept the deck, resting on Lucas for a moment, then moving to the captain. Recognition light their depths, and she broke the
official moment by gasping in surprise, then running to Bridger and throwing her arms around him. "Uncle Nate! I haven't seen you in so long!!"
Bridger turned slightly red, returning her hug. "Kara! It's good to see you, too! Bill, how'd did you manage to get her here? I thought you had your hands full just getting yourself on board?"
Noyce laughed. "That can wait until later. Well, since we seem to be past the official greeting now, Nathan, do you think Kara and I could go freshen up a bit? It was a long ride."
Letting go of Kara, Bridger climbed to the top of the ramp where Noyce was standing. "Sure Bill, but you owe me about an hour or so. It's been to long, and I want to hear what trouble you've been getting into." The two men and Kara began to descend down the ramp. Once they past the end of the
twin lines, the arms of the crew came down from their salute in one disciplined snap. Bridger turned back to face his crew, and ordered "Dismissed!"
The crew each began to go back to their posts, some to the bridge, some to other parts of the ship. Bridger spotted Lucas leaving, and called after him. "Lucas! Come back here for a minute. I want you to meet the Admiral's niece."
When the teen had reached the group, Nathan began the introductions. "Lucas, this is Kara. She's also good when it comes to computers, so I bet the two of you will have a lot to talk about. I think it'll also be good for you to be around someone your own age for awhile."
"Hi," said Lucas.
"Hey."
There was a slightly awkward silence, then Bridger spoke up. "Well, I'm sure you two'll get the chance to talk later. Right now I have to show Bill and Kara to their quarters. I'll see you later Lucas." With that, the captain led his two guests from the shuttle bay, talking excitedly with them. When he was sure they were gone, Lucas headed toward his quarters.
Once he arrived, he opened the door and easily navigated through the mess that was his floor. He sat down at his computer, thinking about the meeting. It would be pretty cool to have someone on the boat near his own age, for awhile at least. And she knew about computers, too. Maybe he could actually have a conversation with her about his work and not have to tone it down into Layman's terms. Grinning, Lucas fired up his computer. Well, any conversation would have to wait for about an hour or so, he thought as he pulled up the game he had been playing earlier.
Two hours passed, and Lucas was just finishing up his game when his stomach began to protest. He remembered that he hadn't eaten since breakfast, and shut down his computer before setting off toward the mess hall.
As he entered, he could hear laughter coming from several of the packed tables. The loudest was the one that seated the captain, Noyce, and Kara. Noyce had apparently said something that Bridger had found funny, and now the man was rolling with laughter. The older man watched as Lucas piled some food onto a tray and waved him over.
Once Lucas had sat down across from Kara, Bridger and Noyce began to absorb them selves in their conversation, leaving the two teens alone for the moment. Kara leaned over and whispered into his ear. "Come on, let's take this stuff you guys call food and find somewhere else to eat. Knowing them,
they'll be like this for hours." Lucas nodded in agreement and they picked up their trays, heading for the door. Bridger looked up from the conversation long enough to see them leave the mess hall.
Lucas led Kara toward the moonpool. When he got there, he set his tray down and motioned for her to do the same. Then he walked over to the pool, picking up the vocorder on his way.
"Hey Darwin, you there?"
A long, gray form swam into sight, poking his head above water with a slight
splash. "Lucas, play?"
Kara, who had been watching from the door where their trays lay, came up behind Lucas. "That's Darwin! I remember him from Uncle Nate's island! How, did you get him here? How can you talk to him like that?" Her voice held amazement as she looked from the dolphin to Lucas and back again.
"Kara. Kara from Bridger's pod. Kara play too."
Lucas laughed as he turned to see Kara's surprised look. "It's a program I came up with. It's called the vocorder. It translates Darwin's speech into rough English so we can communicate. It's supposed to be top secret, but considering that you're the Admiral's niece, I think that's clearance enough. Besides, practically everyone who's visited the ship has seen it anyway. " He paused, remembering what Kara and Darwin had said. "Wait, you've met Darwin before?"
"Yeah, when my uncle and I came to visit Uncle Nate on his island a few times. This is amazing! Uncle Nate always dreamed of being able to do this! You say you made this? No offense, but how could someone young like you make something like this? You must be a genius or something!"
Darwin, who was getting impatient, sent a spray of cold water at the two teens, soaking the front of their clothing. "Kara, Lucas play!"
"Ok, ok Dar. Just hold on. Here, we can talk about this later. It appears fish face here isn't going to be happy until we're playing with him. There are some wet suits over here that we can change into." They changed quickly and jumped in to the moonpool with Darwin. Their food lay cold and untouched as they played tag with the dolphin for about an hour. When then finally emerged from the cold water, they put on their semi-dry clothes and sat by the pool again.
"So," Kara said, "how does someone your age wind up in a place like this? It must get pretty boring."
"Yeah. But it's been pretty fun. Well, except for the battles and stuff like that at least. As for how I wound up here… well, my dad thought I'd be better off. He says I should learn discipline and stuff like that, but I think he just wanted me out of his hair so he could do his work and not have to worry about me. He's a scientist."
"Oh. My parents are kinda like that too. They like to travel a lot, so they sent me off to school near my uncle so I could live with him. He and my aunt practically raised me. That's how I know your Captain so well. Since he and Uncle Bill are such good friends, we would see them a lot. I even knew Carol and Robby before they…well, they were all like family to me."
Kara and Lucas sat and talked deep into the night. Lucas was surprised to find out that she was just about as good with computers as he was. She was also an aspiring scientist, and was hoping to become a marine biologist after finishing her last year in high school and her college education. Since she was his own age, only sixteen, it surprised him to learn about her education. Kara had explained that she wasn't a genius like he was, but that she learned things rapidly, and had a photographic memory to store what she learned.
As she talked, Lucas looked at her. She did not look as though she had a bright mind with a great personality. She looked like any ordinary girl, with long, curly light brown hair. Her face was tanned, matching the rest of her light brown skin. Noticing her small build, he realized that even though he was slight for his age, she was even smaller. Lucas suddenly remembered that when they had played with Darwin, she had only come up to about his chin. But overall, she looked like any other girl. But as their conversation progressed, Lucas found her as anything but ordinary.
Three a.m. rolled around, and both teens found themselves yawing. Standing, Lucas offered his hand to help Kara up. "Well, the captain wants me on the bridge to look at something around eight o'clock. I better get off to bed."
"Yeah, me too. Hey, after you're done on the bridge, how about the full tour? I would love to check out the rest of the ship."
"All right. How about I meet you in the mess? We can grab breakfast and then go."
"Sounds good. Well, I'll see you tomorrow."
They said goodnight, and then they each headed towards their own separate quarters. When Lucas had reached his, he changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and an old shirt and went to bed. He lay there in the dark, tired, but he couldn't sleep. All he could think about was how Kara and he had so much in common, and how great it was to be around someone who was his own age. The SeaQuest crew was like a family to him, but sometimes you needed someone your own age to talk to. Eventually, Lucas drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
* * *
Nearby, one man sat silently in front of a vidphone. He listened intently as the female voice at the other end delivered precise instructions for the up-coming mission.
"Now, when the fools rush in for the rescue, you know what to do, right?" the voice asked.
The man only nodded, running through the plan in his mind. With the arrival of Admiral Noyce on the SeaQuest, the time for their attack had come. The small terrorist band had been waiting for a chance to strike back at Noyce and Bridger for some time now, and this was the perfect opportunity. Almost too perfect. A chance like this did not happen often, and they planned to take full advantage of it. The man sat back in his chair, and waited for morning.
After shutting off the connection to her agent, the mysterious woman grinned. At last, she would be able to have her revenge. The taste of victory was already sweet in her mouth, like a well-ripened fruit. Just one more day and she would take from Bridger and Noyce the most important things in their lives, just like they had done to her.
* * *
The next morning, things didn't go as Lucas had planned them. He woke up, dressed, and headed for the bridge. Bridger had him check some of the communications equipment to make sure there were no viruses in them. They had been acting strangely, but all it turned out to be was a faulty wire.
When he had finished fixing the problem, Lucas turned to leave the bridge, anxious to meet up with Kara. "That should cover it, Tim. Just make sure they don't get crossed again; it could damage the system."
Tim O'Neill nodded his gratitude. "Thanks Lucas. I don't know how much longer I could have withstood that beeping. It was driving me nuts. Oh, hold on a minute, I'm picking up something." O'Neill bent over the his station, listening intently. "Captain, I'm receiving an S.O.S from a nearby station."
"Put it on screen," the captain ordered.
Soon the main screen came to life with the image of a middle-aged man. His graying hair was in disarray, and wild green eyes darted nervously about his dark surroundings. "Can anyone hear me? This is the Traies Station. Please, for God's sake, can anyone hear me?"
Bridger, picking up on the quiet, frantic tone of the man's voice, answered in a low but audible voice, "The is the UEO Submarine SeaQuest, can we be of assistance?"
The man looked toward Bridger gratefully. "Thank you. We need help. A terrorist group has taken over our station. We're only a little scientific outpost, really. They wanted something we were working on, and now they have the whole station. Please, you must help us!"
"Hold on a moment, Mr-"
"Dr. Arnolds"
"Dr. Arnolds. What exactly is it you were working on?"
"It was a top-secret virus. Section Seven wanted it developed for biological warfare. I don't know how they found out about it, because it was top secret! And no matter what happens, you have to keep this secret, too. I shouldn't be saying anything at all, but I need your help! Please, you have to hurry! I can't say much more, or they'll find me! I'm the only one left, they killed all of my colleagues."
"All right, do you have the coordinates?" The doctor nodded. "Ok, send them to us, then get yourself hidden. We may need your help once we get there-"
"There's no time! I hear them coming! Here, I'm sending everything I can. The layouts, coordinates, even the information we have on the virus. Please, stop them!" As the visual connection closed, a scream and several gunshots were heard. Then there was silence as the rest of the connection
was closed.
The bridge crew stood stunned for a brief moment, then exploded in to action. Bridger began shouting orders, and the crew was scattering to follow them. Lucas stood still among the bustle, shocked at what had just occurred. They had just heard a man die. He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, and turned to see the captain motion toward the wardroom. There was planning to be done.
******
I'll be posting more soon, and I hope you enjoyed this!