A/N: I was going to wait on this story, but my muse just won't quit, so I finally had to give in and start it. Now, please know I will be finishing Moments Like This and Remember When. Moments is nearly finished; Remember When has about a dozen chapters to go, I think. I will, however, be deleting Checkmate for now. I just don't have the time to finish it, but I will bring it back when I am more in the mindset to actually work on it.

I thought a good starting point for this story would be after 'Hide and Seek'. I'm going to be bringing in some third season villains, so I'm going AU, though I will try to keep canon as much as possible. Also, please know I am going to take some risks in this one. While things might look horrible on the surface, everything may not be as it seems. I ask that you please trust me, though. I promise you a good story, as always.

Disclaimer: SeaQuest DSV and its characters are not my creation. They are the creation of Rockne S. O'Bannon as a 1990's television series. This work of fanfiction is for entertainment purposes only and is not for financial gain. I am just borrowing the characters for a bit and promise to return them unharmed and in their original condition, maybe just a bit happier.

Chapter 1

UEO Headquarters, Pearl Harbordam

"No, Frank, you can't do this," Bill Noyce insisted. "Distress call or no distress call, I don't agree."

General Frank Thomas crossed his arms and gave the admiral a glare. "This isn't something up for negotiation, Bill. Elysium colony put out a distress call, and-"

"They're in open territory," Bill replied.

"They're the target of a terrorist threat," General Thomas continued. "Considering seaQuest is a peacekeeping vessel, I see no reason why they can't help them."

"It's dangerous."

"No more dangerous than dealing with a Serbo-Croat dictator."

Bill pursed his lips, knowing he was defeated.

The general sighed. "Look, I understand your concerns; I really do. But we're not talking about a colony in open territory. We're talking about human beings in danger. They sought us out. If we don't help them, they could die. We're taking the threat very seriously, and-"

Bill interrupted him again. "What do you know about this terrorist group?"

"Not much. They call themselves the Macronesian Demons."

Bill scoffed. "What does that even mean?"

The general shook his head. "Hell if I know. They're a small group out of Australia."

"Al Qaeda affiliated?"

The general shook his head. "Not this time. That would be easy; at least we'd know what their motives are. I'm not quite sure what these guys want; neither does the rest of the brass. They don't have a lot of attacks under their belts. As far as I know, this is their first major threat. Led by a man by the name of Alexander Bourne. That's about all I've got, but you know in this day and age, all threats must be treated as though they're legitimate. They're threatening to take over the colony…and do Lord knows what else there."

"What about the colony?" Bill asked. "What are the people like?"

"It's a small community; they tend to keep to themselves. It's only a little over a thousand people, but they haven't done anything to provoke an attack. Look, we can stand around talking about this all day while those people are running out of time."

"We don't negotiate with terrorists."

"I'm not asking for negotiations. SeaQuest has torpedoes for a reason, Bill."

"Nathan will never agree to it."

The general frowned and crossed his arms. "He will if I have anything to do with it. Are you going to talk to him or am I?"

"I'll handle it."

"Fine, have it your way. But don't think I won't step in if he gives you any lip."

-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-

seaQuest, 800 miles off the Southern coast of Australia

"Good morning, Doctor," Nathan greeted, bumping into Kristin in the corridor. "Heading to the mess for breakfast?"

"Actually, no," Kristin replied. "Lucas and I have been working on a little experiment with Darwin, and it's getting to be crunch time. We have to finish by the end of the week."

Nathan frowned. "You're not going to eat breakfast?"

She smiled softly. "I had coffee and a muffin already; not to worry."

"I was just hoping to eat with you is all."

"Oh, well, I'm sure I can sacrifice twenty minutes for lunch; what do you say?"

"I say you have a deal," he told her, relieved. "We can discuss a time after the staff meeting."

She looked at her watch. "Oh, I'd forgotten that there was a staff meeting today."

"It is Monday," Nathan reminded her.

She nodded. "Well, I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to hurry. If you see Lucas, please tell him to head to the lab right away." She hurried off down the corridor, but called back, "I'll see you at the staff meeting."

"Sure thing," he muttered with a shake of his head. Since Kristin had sent Malcolm on his way a few weeks earlier, Nathan had been trying to have a little time alone with her. He wanted to speak with her seriously, but their work interfered. When she had a bit of free time, he couldn't get away from the bridge...and vice versa. He sighed and headed towards the mess, deciding it would happen when the time was right and not before.

He selected a breakfast sandwich and a coffee and looked around the room for a place to sit. He happened to see Lucas sitting at a table in the back and crossed the room to sit with him.

"Morning, kiddo," Nathan said cheerily as he sat.

Lucas smiled. "Morning."

"I hear you have a busy day ahead of you, which reminds me, the doctor wants you in the lab as soon as possible." He took a bite of his breakfast sandwich.

"Yeah, I know. We've been working on a language experiment with Darwin, but it's not exactly going as well as we'd hoped. If we don't finish it by the end of the week, the funding for it will be pulled; that means we'll need to move on to something else. The doc is dead set against that."

"As she should be." However, Nathan noticed the doubtful look Lucas was wearing. "You don't think so?"

Lucas shrugged. "I just think it might be too much pressure on Darwin. We've been working on it for nearly a month, and he hasn't gotten it. I think it's about time we throw in the towel."

"Well, be that as it may, I think you should admire the doctor's tenacity. She might prove you wrong, you know."

"Maybe," Lucas said, taking the last piece of orange off his plate and popping it into his mouth.

"I trust you'll listen to her," he said warningly.

"I've been a perfect angel so far," Lucas replied, holding his hands up. "Don't worry; I haven't told her what I really think."

"Good," Nathan said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Now I-" At that moment, Nathan's PAL unit beeped, cutting him off. He took it off of his belt and answered. "Bridger."

Lieutenant O'Neill's voice said, "Captain, you have an emergency phone call from Admiral Noyce."

"I'll take it in the science lab; I'm in the mess hall now. I'm on my way," Nathan replied. "Thank you, Mr. O'Neill."

"You're welcome, sir."

Nathan put his PAL unit away and looked at Lucas. "Well, change of plans. I'll walk with you to the lab?"

Both men took care of their trays and started toward the lab. Once there, Kristin greeted them both with a smile. "Lucas, I'm so glad you're here. Can you start programming this list into the vocoder?" She handed him a file folder.

"Sure thing," Lucas replied, giving Nathan a bit of an eye roll, which Kristin didn't see.

"Remember what I said," Nathan told him.

Lucas gave him a salute. "Aye, sir."

"See you at the staff meeting."

Lucas gave him a wave as he headed out of the lab towards the moon pool.

"Not very enthusiastic, is he?" Kristin noted worriedly.

"Did he say anything to you?"

She shook her head. "But I can tell he'd rather be doing something else," she said with a sigh. "I just feel like we're so close. I'm not giving up until the very last minute."

"And I wouldn't expect you to. Um, as much as I'd love to talk to you about this, I have another agenda, unfortunately. Do you mind if I used the vid-phone in your office? I've a call from the admiral, and since I was nearby…"

"Oh, go right ahead. The door's open. Everything all right?"

"I don't know yet; I guess we'll find out."

-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-

Nathan entered Kristin's office and closed the door behind him. He then hit the answer button on the vid-phone.

"It's about damn time, Nathan!" Bill said in annoyance.

"I was in the middle of breakfast," Nathan replied apologetically. "You've only been waiting a few minutes. Something's wrong?"

"We have a rather delicate situation on our hands, yes," Bill told him.

General Thomas stepped into the camera view. "And it'll be in your best interest not to argue, Captain!"

Bill shot him a glare. "You said you'd let me handle this, Frank."

"I wanted to be sure he knew where the orders were coming from, that's all." The general, however, obediently stepped out of the view of the camera once again.

Nathan sighed. If General Thomas was involved, this was definitely not good. "What's the situation?"

"We've received a distress call from the Elysium Underwater Colony; Elysium is located three hundred miles off the Western coast of Australia."

"That's open territory. We have no jurisdiction there."

"I did mention it was a delicate situation. And you're right; normally we wouldn't get involved, but they sought us out. They've received what we're considering to be a serious threat from a terrorist group, and they need our help."

General Thomas leaned over Bill's shoulder. "This is not up for discussion, Captain."

"What exactly do you want us to do?"

"You have torpedoes; use them," the general replied bluntly.

"You want us to hunt them down and kill them?"

"You're a smart man, Captain. You figure it out."

"SeaQuest is a peacekeeping vessel, Frank," Nathan replied.

The general narrowed his eyes at him. "Which is exactly why we need your boat."

"I'd rather see what we can do to help the colony," Nathan countered. "Isn't there another way?"

"We don't negotiate with terrorists, Nathan," Bill said gently. "You can't reason with them."

"I have strong convictions against this."

"You should know as well as I that there isn't always a place for morals in situations like this," General Thomas replied, a hint of anger in his voice.

Nathan shook his head. "There is always room for morals, sir, and there must be another way."

"You better not be thinking of putting the lives of your crew in danger, Nathan," Bill told him.

"Of course not, but murder is not necessarily the answer. We do that, we're only stooping to their level."

The general frowned. "I honestly don't care how you do it, but you make sure this colony is safe. But you remember that safety is the first priority here. If any of those colony members die…or any of your crew…those lives will be on you, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Nathan replied.

"I'm giving you twelve hours," the general stated. "If there is no progress on the situation whatsoever, we do things my way, understood?"

"Yes, General," Nathan replied through gritted teeth.

"Good luck, Nathan. Keep in touch," Bill told him, a hint of apology in his voice.

Nathan nodded. "I will." He then cut the link. "Damn it!" he muttered under his breath before opening the door.

Kristin was standing there, a sheepish look on her face. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. I just needed something out of my office, but I didn't want to interrupt. Did I hear yelling?"

"General Thomas gave me strict orders. Not that I need to listen to those orders exactly...but I don't feel like getting into an argument with him either."

"Oh, dear," she replied. "That bad?"

He nodded. "And we don't have much time to act." He glanced at the clock. "The staff meeting is getting moved up; we have work to do. Oh, and I'm sorry, but I'm going to need to borrow Lucas. See you in the ward room in half an hour." He then hurried off, leaving Kristin in his wake.

She sighed in frustration. "I guess my experiment will just have to wait after all."

-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-

The senior staff assembled around the ward room table. The only two missing were the captain and Lucas.

Jonathan looked at Kristin. "It's not like the captain to be late. Do you have any idea what this is about?"

She shook her head. "He mentioned something about General Thomas."

"Oh, great," Ben replied. "We all know what happened the last time General Thomas gave orders."

Everyone nodded their heads.

"But it all worked out in the end," Kristin said after a few minutes. "Perhaps…perhaps it's not as bad as it seems."

"Did you see the look on the captain's face?" Ben asked. "We all know it's worse than it seems."

At that moment, the ward room door opened, and Lucas and Nathan entered.

"My apologies for the delay, everyone," Nathan stated. "We don't have much time, so I'm going to cut to the chase." He motioned to Lucas, who brought up a picture of the outside of an underwater colony. "This is Elysium Colony. It's located just off the coast of Australia in open territory. Normally, we wouldn't get involved with them, but they've asked for our help. They've been threatened by a terrorist group known as the Macronesian Demons." He gave Lucas a nod. "You have the floor, Mr. Wolenczak."

Lucas hit a button and the picture changed to a young man with blonde hair. "This is Alexander Bourne. He's twenty-nine years old, Australian born, no pun intended; he started his group about a year and a half ago, but the UEO Counter-Terrorism Department really became interested in him a year ago when there was an incident at a political rally. Twelve people were killed when someone opened fire. Word is that the person who did it is a part of Bourne's group, but no one could find the weapon or the shooter. Because of lack of evidence, Bourne was released."

"What exactly is the stance of the group?" Jonathan asked.

"Basically, they're against UEO sanctions," Lucas explained. He then hit a button and another man appeared. "This is Armand Stassi, Bourne's right hand. He's thirty years old, also Australian born." He hit the button again. "This is Larry Deon."

"He looks as though he's your age," Kristin muttered, noting how young the man was.

"He's twenty-four, actually," Lucas replied. "And he's an American."

Tim raised an eyebrow. "How did he get involved with Bourne then?"

"I honestly couldn't find much about how they met," Lucas replied, "but Larry Deon is a business tycoon, and it seems that he and Bourne have the same agenda when it comes to the UEO. He basically does what Bourne tells him to do." He then changed the picture once again. "And finally, this is Mason Freeman, also an American; twenty-eight years old. He's Deon's bodyguard, if you will. He's supposed to be ruthless and isn't one to be messed with."

"So this is all we're dealing with? Four guys?" Ben said in disbelief.

Lucas smirked. "These are the main ones, yes, but Bourne is supposed to have followers all over Australia, possibly some in the USA as well."

"Long story short, Mr. Bourne's group has made a serious threat against the colony. They've threatened to go in and take it over, hold the inhabitants hostage. General Thomas has ordered us to stop it by any means necessary," Nathan stated.

"By any means necessary?" Katie asked. "You mean like Max Scullyi's submarine?"

Nathan sighed. "If Thomas has his way, yes, it's hunt and kill. But I have a different plan in mind, if you'd like to hear it. However, I want to warn you all, this could be very dangerous. I'll give you a few minutes to discuss it, if you'd like, but the general's only given us twelve hours." He looked at the clock. "And we've nearly lost one already."

The senior staff all exchanged glances with one another as Jonathan spoke up, "What's the plan, sir?"

"I want to form a rescue group, if we can. The colony members...they're scared. They might need supplies." He looked at Kristin. "They might need medical attention. I want to go in and try to talk to them. General Thomas wants us to go looking for Bourne. We don't even know if he's in the water or if his threat is legitimate. But if it is, our first priority is to save those people. Then we can do what's necessary with Bourne. What do you say?"

There were a few moments of silence before Jonathan spoke again, "I'm with you, sir."

"So am I," Ben echoed.

"Me, too," Katie said.

Everyone added their agreements to which Nathan smiled. "Thank you, all. I'd like to organize a small team first, and we can have a back-up team. The back-up team will handle the launches if we need them."

Jonathan raised his hand. "I'd like to be on the main team, sir."

"I was hoping you'd say that, Commander." He looked at Katie. "Which means I need you to take the bridge."

She nodded. "It'll be my pleasure."

"You'll set a course for Elysium colony right away, please; eighty knots. We need to get there as fast as we can."

"Aye, sir."

With that, Katie left the room while the rest of the staff deliberated. After a short time, they decided that the main team would consist of Nathan, Jonathan, Kristin, Tim, Chief Crocker, and Ben. The rest of the staff members were on the back-up team. "I want to thank you all once again. You all know what to do. I'll meet the rest of the rescue team in launch bay in about twenty minutes. You're all dismissed."

Everyone began to depart, save for Kristin and Lucas.

"Captain, I wanted to be on a team, too," Lucas told him.

Nathan smiled. "Lucas, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but this…this is really just too dangerous for you. You're a minor, and I'm responsible for you."

"I've gone on missions before," Lucas argued.

"I need you here, Lucas. I'm sorry, but I just can't put you in danger like that." He put his arm around the boy's shoulders.

"But you'll put yourself in it?"

"Lucas, I-"

"I'm afraid of what will happen," Lucas said quietly. "Captain, these guys…there's no telling what they could do."

"I know, kiddo, and I promise we'll be careful. But I can't let you go just because you're afraid about what might happen. If something happened to you, I'd never forgive myself. I really need to go speak with Chief Crocker, so I don't have time to argue with you. I'll see you tonight, I promise."

"But-" Lucas began as Nathan headed out the door.

Kristin took Lucas by the arm. "The captain's right, Lucas. It really is just too dangerous for you. I'll tell you what; I'll give you complete freedom on the experiment with Darwin while we're away."

"Oh, joy," he said sarcastically.

She sighed. "I know it's not exactly your idea of a good time, but it's all I can offer you."

"Are you scared?" he asked after a moment.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I haven't had time to think about it. All I know is there are a group of people who are in danger and need our help. I'm just trying to focus on them." She paused and really looked at him. "You're afraid?"

He nodded. "They're terrorists; they have no regard for human life. What if..."

"Oh, Lucas; I assure you, we'll be taking every precaution we can. You just have to try not to worry, okay?"

Lucas nodded. "Do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Promise you'll take care of the captain for me?"

"I promise," she told him, giving him a tight hug. "Be good, okay?"

"Take care of yourself, too, Doc."

"I will." She gave him a smile and then she hurried off toward launch bay.

-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-

seaQuest launch, MR-9; two hours later

"Approaching the outskirts of Elysium Colony, Captain," Jonathan announced.

"Thank you, Commander." He looked at Tim. "You can inform them of our arrival, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir."

He then approached Kristin. "You're awfully quiet," he noted.

She shrugged. "I'm just…mentally preparing myself, that's all."

"You're having second thoughts?"

She shook her head. "No, not at all. I know I could have easily recommended Joshua."

"And I would have understood."

She smiled softly. "I just…hope we know what we're getting into. I don't know what we'll find when we get there."

He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Everything's going to be fine. We can handle it."

She nodded. I hope you're right, she thought.

-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-

Elysium Colony

Another twenty minutes later, the launch connected with the outer section of the colony. They were met by a tall man who looked to be in his mid-thirties with dark hair and eyes. "Thank you so much for coming to our rescue," he greeted. "My name is Anthony Wilcox, and I'm one of the representatives of the colony." He shook their hands as each of them introduced themselves.

"If you don't mind, Mr. Wilcox, I'd like to go on ahead and assess the situation first," Nathan told him. "Not that I don't trust you, but considering the circumstances, I need to make sure my team is safe. Therefore, I want to make sure there are no threats in the colony. If I could just have a few minutes with my team first."

Anthony nodded and walked a few feet away to give them privacy.

Nathan turned to the others.

"Nathan, I'm not sure I like this," Kristin whispered. "I thought we were all going in together."

Jonathan nodded in agreement. "Bourne's team could be inside as we speak."

"Which is exactly why I want you all out here," Nathan replied. "I'm still responsible for each and every one of you. That's why I want to go on ahead, just to be sure."

"But, Nathan-" Kristin shook each

Nathan put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't argue, okay? I'll be right back. I promise."

Kristin sighed as Nathan walked towards Anthony, and the two entered through the main doorway of the colony.

-sQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQsQ-

"I don't like this," Kristin announced a little while later. She'd been pacing nervously. "They've been gone too long."

Jonathan, Tim, Chief Crocker, and Ben exchanged glances.

"The doctor's right," Jonathan replied. "They've been gone for almost twenty minutes now."

"I think we should go in after them," Kristin said, starting toward the entrance.

"No, Doc, you can't." Crocker motioned toward the security keypad on the wall.

"Great," she muttered dryly. She looked at Jonathan. "Try your PAL unit."

Jonathan obliged, but all he got was static. "I think he's too far away."

"Something's not right," Kristin insisted worriedly. "I think-"

Suddenly, they all heard a noise; it sounded like rolling thunder in the distance, though it couldn't be that.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Oh, my God!" Jonathan cried. "Get down!"

"What?" Kristin asked. She started to turn around to see what he was looking at when he pushed her down, covering her with his own body.

The explosion that followed was deafening.

A/N: A huge thank you to ReadingBlueWolf for helping me work out a few kinks in the chapter. Thank you, darling!