Thanks to everyone who reviewed my other stories, and thanks to those who suggested I write a "finding out Lucas's past" story.

I don't own anything, or anyone, that is owned by someone else, or make any money or intentionally infringe any copyrights – this applies to all the following chapters too. I do however claim the plot as mine.

Might be a little bit slow to start with, but it will warm up soon – Promise :o)

Oh, and I still don't have a beta editor, so apologies in advance for any errors I missed.

Chapter One.

"Do I have to go?"

Nathan Bridger rolled his eyes. "You said you wanted to go, you nagged me for weeks to get you a place at the conference." The World Conference was billed as the calendar highlight, in the world of research and development. And every country and organisation in the world sent a delegation to highlight any break throughs they had made in the last twelve months.

"I just wanted to go to the conference, not give a lecture at it." Lucas crossed his arms and slouched in his seat.

"You only have to give two lectures." Kristen tried to reason.

"Can't I just go to the conference like a normal person?" Lucas complained.

Bridger sighed; he couldn't work out why Lucas was being so difficult about his.

"Lucas, we thought that you'd be pleased, being asked to give a lecture at a conference like this is an honour." Kristen said gently.

"And what if I don't want to be honoured?" Lucas asked.

"Lucas, we've told them you will be part of the group representing seaQuest. You could contact them and tell them that you won't be able to attend, but it wouldn't look very good for seaQuest."

"Can't I go, and not give the lectures?"

The Captain shook his head.

"Think of the opportunity this gives you to show off, Lucas," Kristen said, trying to appeal to Lucas's ego, "and think of all the funding you could get for the projects we're working on."

Lucas seemed to withdraw into himself. "Fine – I'll go, I'll make the speeches." He said moodily, and he got up, starting to make his way to the door.

"Lucas?" The Captain asked, worried about the sudden change in the teen's mood.

"If you excuse me, Captain, I'm going to go and pack." Lucas replied without turning around.

The Captain and Kristen Westphalen looked at each other confused.

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"Lucas, you in there?" Ben called when no one answered his knock on the hatch to Mammal Engineering.

"Go away Ben, I'm busy." Ben walked in anyway. Lucas was lying on his bed staring at the pattern the aqua tube projected onto to ceiling. He didn't look busy.

"So, buddy, you looking forward to the trip?"

"No."

"Aw, come on, it'll be fun." Lucas looked sceptical.

"Just six of us, it'll be just like shore leave." If anything Lucas withdrew into himself even more.

"You know who else is going?" The teen asked quietly.

"Nope, we'll have to wait and see – no one tells me anything." Ben replied, cheerful as ever. He didn't understand why his young friend wasn't looking forward to this conference as much as he was.

"Cheer up, think of all the trouble we can cause." Ben hinted mischievously.

Lucas looked up, his curiosity piqued.

"What kind of trouble?"

"Well, I thought we could...." Ben started, smiling, relieved to see Lucas returning to something like his usual self.

***** ***** *****

The next morning Lucas went to the moon pool to say goodbye to Darwin.

"Lucas play?" the vo-corder translated as Darwin popped to the surface.

"Sorry, fish-face, I have to go away for a little while."

"Why Lucas go?"

"It's complicated." Darwin seemed to nod in agreement – most things to do with humans seemed to be complicated.

"Lucas come back?" Darwin asked.

"Yes-" Lucas stopped. "Well, probably." He corrected, he didn't want to end up lying to Darwin.

"Darwin hope Lucas come back."

"Lucas hopes Lucas comes back too." Lucas said quietly, before saying with suspiciously false cheer, "You be good when I'm gone. I'll make sure someone come to play with you, Ok?"

Darwin nodded again.

"Bye, Fish-Face." Lucas said, and left quickly, to get to the transport on time.

***** ***** *****

"You're late, Lucas." The Captain gently scolded, when Lucas had mad his way onto the dock. Lucas watched his breath condense in the cold air.

"Sorry, um, I guess everyone else is already here?" He said, glad the Captain had warned him to wear warm clothes.

"No" Dr. Westphalen answered dryly. "Krieg still hasn't made an appearance either."

"Why did they have to put the whole conference in the middle of nowhere?" Lucas complained. Wrapping his arms around him to keep out the cold.

"It not the middle of nowhere," Kristen Westphalen corrected. "Noril'sk has one of the most sophisticated research centres in the world."

"It's in Siberia – Siberia – as in the arctic-circle, and the centre is run by the military, not by scientists." Lucas pointed out, before deciding to change the subject. "So who else is going to the conference?"

"You and Lieutenant Krieg, obviously, then there's Commander Ford, Commander Hitchcock, O'Neil and Ortiz – they're all storing their kit in the transports."

"Neither of you are going?" Lucas asked surprised.

"What, don't you think we trust you to go on your own, kiddo?" The Captain laughed and ruffled the teen's hair.

"What? On my own with most of the bridge crew you mean?"

"Well, we have to send the best to the conference, don't we?" The Captain said, smiling when Lucas blushed slightly. He didn't add that the Commanders were the only people he trusted to keep the rest of them out of trouble.

Lucas just hoped that the Captain wouldn't be disappointed in him.

Everyone looked around as Ben hurried towards them, skidding despite the grit on the floor.

"Hi, sorry I'm late Captain." The Captain nodded, wondering what Ben had been up to, it never even crossed his mind that there was an innocent explanation for the Lieutenant being late – with Krieg there never was.

"Do I have to warn you two to behave for Commander Ford?" Bridger asked solemnly.

Both Lucas and Ben gave the Captain such innocent looks he almost laughed out loud. Ford was going to have his hands full on this trip, and Bridger was glad that it was going to be the Commanders problem and not his.

When they had said their good byes, and both the Captain and Kristen had warned Ben to behave and wished Lucas good luck with his lectures, Lucas and Krieg made their way towards the transports.

"Nice of you both to decide to join us, Lieutenant, Lucas." Ford said, nodding at each of them in turn.

Lucas and Ben looked at each other, disappointed that they may have to behave properly, at least for the first part of the trip, at least for long enough to lull Ford and Katie into a false sense of security.

Ben made to follow Lucas into the second transport, but Ford stopped him.

"I'm not that stupid, Krieg, you go in the other transport, I'm not making it that easy for you two to plan something."

"But Commander-"

"Lieutenant." Ford warned.

Krieg didn't protest anymore, but made his way towards the first transport and took a seat in the front, next to his ex-wife.

"Ford's letting you drive? No wonder he's in the other transport!" Krieg said, horrified.

"I only get to drive as far as the airport, he vetoed my request to fly the plane." Katie said, smiling mischievously at Ben.

"Funny Katie, very funny, just because I don't like flying."

"You don't like flying?" Miguel asked from the back seat.

"What's to like? You're up thousands of feet in the air, with nothing between you and the ground? Do you know how many things can go wrong with a plane mid-flight?"

"Thanks, but I think I'm happier not knowing." Miguel replied, he saw Katie prepare to start the engine, and he checked his seat belt – he'd heard stories about Katie's driving. She was a talented pilot, there was no questioning that, but she did most of her driving under water, and sometimes forgot that driving on land was not quite the same thing.

***** ***** *****

Lucas sat in the back of the other transport, and stared at the back of Ford and O'Neil's heads.

"How long before we get to this place, anyway?"

"A few hours to the airport, then we fly to Khanty-Mansi airport, and transfer to a smaller plane, to fly to Noril'sk." Ford replied, tripping slightly over the of the place names.

Lucas and Tim both corrected his pronunciation at the same time. Tim looked back at Lucas in askance.

"My great grand-mother was Russian." Lucas said as if that explained everything.

"You speak Russian?" Ford queried.

"Not much, probably enough to get by, but that's about it."

"Maybe you'll get the chance to use some at the airport." Tim said.

Lucas wasn't sure, but Ford didn't look too happy about flying, it wasn't anything that he could put his finger on, but it might have had something to do with the way the Commander gripped the steering wheel just a little bit tighter when ever some one mentioned flying.

When the first transport set off, Commander Ford carefully manoeuvred their transport into its tracks.

O'Neil watched the transport that Katie drove; speed up in spite of the snow which covered the road. Swallowing, and muttering a quick prayer, and just hoped they'd all make it to the airport in one piece.

To be Continued...

***** ***** *****

Any and all reviews and comments would be appreciated. This is going to be going somewhere, honest ;o)