This story takes place in the First Season Time-line, after Mist of Silence.

The Trench

by Lynn

Captain Lee Crane stood bent over the chart table with a stop watch in his hands. He counted off the seconds as the crew studiously attended their stations. A pin drop could have been heard, as each rating strained to hear the next order.

“Turn,” Captain Crane marked off the turn and reset his stop watch, as the XO repeated the order and the helmsman executed the prearranged turn to starboard.

Chip's calm voice announced the next turn from the Captain's Log Book.

“On the Captain's order execute right rudder, ten degrees for exactly five seconds.”

“Aye Sir, right rudder, ten degrees for five seconds,” the helmsman repeated the order, his soft but discernible voice evidence of his extreme concentration.

Captain Crane continued to study his stop watch as Chip leaned over his shoulder.

“Canyon wall ten yards dead ahead,” Kowalski's voice was calm but tight.

“Steady everyone,” The XO's voice offering encouragement and command at the same time.

A few more seconds passed and then another soft order from the Captain, “Turn.” His order repeated and executed almost simultaneously. Five seconds later the crew could feel the boat returning to its forward motion and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Lee lifted his head up and turned around to address the crew, turning most of his attention to his helmsman. “Excellent job men, we'll study the Nav report and tell you if we made it through alive.” His smile softened the blow of his statement, and a flow of soft laughter spread across the deck of the control room.

The simulations were going well, and Lee had ran drills complete with computer simulated canyon walls to imitate the real trench they were headed towards. If the Nav report showed what he expected it to show, then the Alpha crew would be ready to make the descent into the trench in a couple of days. He was still working to bring the Beta crew up to speed, they weren't far off but the old saying of “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades” firmly applied to this run, and the backup crew had to be just as prepared as the prime crew.

Chip watched Lee closely. The light joke the Skipper shared with the crew had elicited a smile from Lee, but Chip knew that the smile had not reached the twinkle in his eyes. It hadn't been there since Lee and the prize crew had returned to the boat, minus one crew member, Farrell.

Lee had told Chip about the execution of Farrell and just three weeks since the mission, Chip knew that it still haunted Lee. Although Chip and Lee hadn't discussed the specifics, Chip had heard the stories that had circulated the crew grapevine, stories of Farrell screaming for his Captain to save him as he was dragged off to the firing squad. Chip knew from those same stories that Lee had tried to fight back and had spent several hours sitting blind in the cell as the chemical wore off his eyes, a little surprise General Dalvarez pulled on Lee as he held Dalvarez in a choke hold.

Kowalski described Lee's distress from the chemical, the tears pouring out of his eyes as the searing chemical kept him incapacitated against the cell wall. But Chip wondered how many tears were from the chemical and what was from Lee's feelings over not being able to protect his crewman and not betray his country at the same time.

Chip put his thoughts to the back of his mind as Lee turned to him with his clipboard in hand, “Mr. Morton, secure the Drill and run the Simulation report on the stations, I'll compare them to the Nav report in the observation lounge.”

“Aye, Sir.” Chip turned to execute his orders. He and Lee had been dancing around their roles of Captain/XO and friends since Lee had signed aboard. But they had finally eased into their roles with satisfying results. Neither felt a lack of intimacy to their friendship in referring to one another's rank and titles, they were both professionals. From time to time, they did use each other's first names, although Chip used it less sparingly than Lee, being the subordinate officer. It hadn't disrupted the order of the boat, and in fact, Chip thought that the crew had appreciated the easy relationship of the Command Crew.

Chip secured the Drill with a few strokes of the computer console that sat near the radio shack as Lee left out the hatch to the spiral staircase down the corridor. In his hands, he carried the Nav report as he descended down the staircase, but on his shoulders he bore a heavy weight. It was the weight of Command, making decisions that were best for the many, but was often paid for by the brave few.

That's how Lee had described Farrell to his parents, a brave young man who had met his death with dignity, defending his country to the end. The last part was true, Farrell's death had kept America from being involved in an international scuffle that could have undone years of work to help to free this oppressed nation. America's interests here were more than passing or fleeting, this country's fight for freedom had the potential to bring stability to the entire region.

Lee needed the Simulation report to accomplish his task, so he placed the report he held in his hands on the conference table and headed to the service table to grab a cup of coffee. He couldn't help but think of Farrell just then, he actually had thought of little else when he wasn't actively busy running the submarine. He took his coffee forward and watched out the windows, seeing nothing.

Here he was, having a cup of coffee, watching the ocean move by the great windows of this fabulous submarine while Farrell's family mourned their son. Everything reminded him of his decision to stay silent, including the deep trench they were headed for. That trench had become a metaphor of the deep chasm he felt he had fallen into since Farrell had died.

It wasn't the first time he had lost someone under his command, nor was he a stranger to death on missions for ONI. But this death hurt even worse than normal, because of the active decision he made to stay silent.

Lee carefully schooled his face to not show the deep pain that lay underneath. He was aware of his own reflection in the window, and he didn't want to alert the officer monitoring the control panel of his distress, so he looked out the window as if truly interested in the churning ocean around him.

* * * * *

Harry worked his way down the spiral staircase to the Observation Lounge below. He stopped midway on the staircase as he caught Lee looking out the window. His face didn't betray his emotions, but his rounded shoulders did. It was the same look he saw as Seaview had left port, Lee had uncharacteristically given Chip the Con and had descended down the stairs to watch Seaview leave her underground pen.

He had shed his leather jacket and held it over his shoulder with one hand in his pocket, seemingly watching the dock, but Harry knew he was back in the cell of the small south american country listening to the sound of an execution squad. Lee had submitted his report of the mission and ONI had offered their congratulations to the crew on the successful mission of bringing President Fuertes to freedom to fight for democracy from the outside. But Harry feared that while Fuertes was free, Lee had found himself as much a prisoner as he was in that cell he found the prize crew in.

Harry finished his descent, and Lee turned as he finally registered the familiar sound of clicks descending the ladder. He pasted on a pleasant smile and greeted the Admiral.

“I'm waiting on the Sim report from Chip, but I think we made it through the trench this time,” Lee's smile giving away the humor of the situation.

“Good. Good, Lee. You've done a fine job bringing the crew along.”

“Thanks Admiral.” Lee really did appreciate Harry's compliment, he didn't hand them out lightly and Lee knew he meant it.

Several more clicks were heard on the stairs as Chip climbed down followed by Miss Victoria Mason. Her long brown hair pulled behind her head in a pony tail, she wore slacks and sensible shoes on board and seemed quite comfortable with life on the submarine. Her ease with the small spaces a direct reflection on the fact that she had spent a considerable amount of time in an underwater laboratory headed by her father. Since their current mission through the trench brought them very close to Sea Star 2, Harry had combined the trips to service both laboratories.

Ocean Blue Domed Laboratory was situated in the center of the trench they were headed toward. The trench provided the perfect location for the very specific experiments that were being conducted there. Navigating the trench was required, rather than dropping the sub like a plumb line because of the narrowing of the canyon walls. It was tricky, took some training, but completely navigable by a good captain and his crew. Ocean Blue had become the priority of the mission when the main generator began to go out last week. They were running the facility on the backup generator, and the dangers of not having another source of power were clear,especially when the backup generator was showing signs of stress.

Harry hated to have to bring Seaview out so soon after their last mission, but the dangers to Ocean Blue had dictated the hasty departure. Chip escorted Miss Mason down the stairs and over to the windows as he handed Lee the reports he was waiting for.

“Thanks Chip. Everything OK above?” Lee's eyes making quick reference to the control room on the floor above them.

“Mr. O'Brien has the Con, were running on course at standard as ordered.”

“Good, have time to join us for coffee?” Lee added a smile, and guided the group over to the conference table as Chip smiled in return.

Lee took his mug back to the conference table and did a cursory glance at the new report before him. He wouldn't read it now, not when they were entertaining a guest, but he couldn't resist a peek. He looked up as Miss Mason retrieved his mug.

“How about a warm-up on your coffee Captain?”

“That's not necessary Miss Mason,” Lee feeling somewhat awkward about having a guest serve him.

“No problem Captain Crane. We serve a lot of coffee on Sea Star, I'm used to it.” He smiled his appreciation and turned as the Admiral spoke to him.

“How does it look so far, Lee?” Harry was anxious to know the Drill's conclusion.

“Looks good so far, Sir. We'll run it a couple more times, but I'm confident of Seaview and her crew.”

Harry smiled in return, he was just as confident in Seaview's Captain. Miss Mason returned Lee's mug and the three men sat and visited with her in pleasant conversation for the next twenty minutes. Chip rose first to excuse himself and Miss Mason followed leaving Lee and Harry to delve into the reports in earnest.

* * * * *

Chip and Lee ran the Simulation for the Beta crew and received similar results, they were both pleased as they made their way to the Observation Lounge for dinner. They usually ate in the Wardroom, but with their guest aboard they had taken several meals here for her sake. It was a pleasant place to eat. Miss Mason seemed to enjoy the hospitality and returned her appreciation with some of her own hospitality insisting that she refill the table's coffee.

“How long before we reach the trench?” She asked as she poured the coffee over Chip's shoulder. She moved around the table and pulled Lee's mug closer to her to pour.

“We have two more days before we reach the entrance of the canyon.” Lee answered.

“It seems rather odd to bring Seaview so close to Sea Star without dropping me off first.” She tried to sound pleasant, but the underlying tone of frustration was still there. Harry turned his head away from her, and sighed silently. He had heard the argument before from Fred Mason, her father. For some reason he was keen on getting Harry out to his facility first.

“Ocean Blue's situation dictates we go there first. You must understand the dangers of running the facility on a faulty backup generator?” Lee's voice stayed pleasant, but he was also surprised that the subject had come up again.

“Yes of course. You must excuse me, I'm just ready to return to the Sea Star, that's all.” The group accepted her explanation and finished their coffee in polite conversation.

Lee leaned back into his chair and realized how very tired he felt all of the sudden. He was sure that the last couple of weeks thinking about Farrell had finally caught up with him. Still, he was the Captain and needed to keep up certain appearances. Being the first to leave the table wouldn't be proper, so he stayed taking another coffee warm-up from Miss Mason with a smile.

Finally, Miss Mason excused herself from the group and all the men rose in unison as she left.

“Admiral, if you don't mind, I think I'm ready to hit the rack. I've got another set of drills to run tomorrow and some work yet to do to prepare for it.”

“Fine, Lee. See you in the morning.”

“Thank you Admiral.” Lee turned his attention toward his XO, “Chip, would you mind stopping by later? I want to go over tomorrow's Sim parameters.”

“Sure Lee, about an hour?” Lee nodded his head in return and left barely hiding his weariness.

* * * * *

Lee sat back heavily in his desk chair. He and Chip had finished the preparations for tomorrow's drills. He was satisfied that both the prime and backup crews were ready for the maneuvers through the trench. Tomorrow's drills would give his crew the confidence they would need and that was nearly as important as their skill.

He had a good crew, the best any captain could ask for. The thought brought a smile to his face, but it soon faded. He thought about the showdown he and Dalvarez had in the palace. It had been good to have it out with him, but in the end it didn't bring Farrell back, nothing would. He sighed. Heck, I'm too tired for this tonight. Lee made a conscious decision to not go there, and went to get ready for bed. Tomorrow was too important, and his crew deserved a captain who could think straight.

* * * * *

Lee woke up and realized that he had overslept, and yet he didn't feel any better for the extra sleep. He started to get up, and only made it to a sitting position. He was sweaty and chilled at the same time, and his muscles were achy. He started to stand and sat back down holding his midsection. Add stomach cramps to the list, he thought. This was a lousy time to get the flu. He started to stand again to get some aspirin, took two steps and fell in a heap.

He laid on the floor breathing hard and curled into a ball, everything was getting worse. He needed help, he tried to lift up again but found himself nearly passing out for the attempt. His stomach cramps were becoming debilitating and he found himself curling up into a tighter ball trying to breathe through the pain.

As he laid there he heard Chip's voice over the com, “Captain Crane, this is the Exec, please report you position.”

Lee sighed in relief, Chip had missed him. Before long Chip would come, he just needed to hang on.

* * * * *

Chip looked at his watch, 0830. He missed Lee at breakfast, but that happened from time to time, but now he was late to the control room. Lee sometimes got held up talking to a rating or got interested in a maintenance project of some kind, that happened occasionally as well. But something told him that wasn't the case. Lee hadn't looked well last night. He knew he was having trouble sleeping since the last mission, but he looked bone weary as they discussed the drill. He picked up the mic, only one way to know for sure.

“Captain Crane, this is the Exec, please report you position.”

Chip waited for a response, and then repeated the call. He turned the Con over to the junior officer on the deck and headed out the aft hatch to the Captain's quarters, if Lee wasn't there he'd get Chief Jones to put out a search party. Something was definitely wrong.

* * * * *

Lee was still curled into a tight ball, everything hurt and his chills were getting worse. His eyes were diverted to the door as he heard a soft rap, and his name being called from the outside.

“Chip,” was spoken too low to be heard, but it was all the volume he could muster. He heard a knock again and then the door opened as Chip peered around the door looking for Lee.

Instantly, Chip's eyes met Lee's and he closed the distance to reach him. “Lee!”

Lee's breathing was ragged and he couldn't respond. Chip moved to the mic, “Medical emergency in the Captain's quarters!” Chip didn't wait for a response, he moved back to Lee placing a hand on his back to reassure him. “Jamie's on his way, Lee. Hold on.”

Lee jerked again in pain keeping his eyes on Chip like a lifeline, as the door busted open and Harry came rushing in.

“What happened?”

“I don't know Sir, I found him on the floor just now.”

“Lee?” Harry tried to get a response from him, as he watched Lee holding his midsection.

Jamie and a corpsman were the next to arrive as Harry and Chip moved to make room for them.

“Skipper?” Jamie's concerned voice penetrated Lee's pain and he opened his eyes, swallowing hard.

“Hurts...Jamie,” Lee closed his eyes as his face gave away his struggle. Jamie finished his vital checks and called for the stretcher, as he turned to the Admiral. “I'll have to get him to sickbay before I can tell you anything.” With that he followed his patient out the door leaving Chip and the Admiral standing there shocked.

* * * * *

Jamie bent over his microscope studying the blood samples underneath and sighed. He had just settled Lee in a bunk, but so far all he had been able to do was to put him on an IV with antibiotics and pain medication. He hoped that he would be able to isolate the bug he suspected as bacterial and begin treatment in earnest.

“I'll let you know Admiral.”

Harry added a squeeze to Jamie's shoulder as he walked by. He walked over to Lee's bunk and settled in next to him. “Lee?” He smiled a small smile as Lee opened his eyes and returned a smile albeit weak.

“Leave it to me Admiral...to catch a tropical bug Jamie can't identify.” Harry's smile widened at Lee's attempt for humor.

“How are you doing Lee?” Harry's concern showed in his eyes as he listened.

“Jamie's got me fixed up, doesn't hurt as bad.” Harry wasn't sure he believed Lee, the lines in his face were telling a different story, then Lee's face turned more serious.

“Admiral, the maneuvers?”

Harry chuckled, “I've been through that corridor a few times myself Lee. I'll lead the drills today, and take us through tomorrow.”

Lee nodded his understanding, “The crew's ready, Sir.” Lee's voice was soft as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

“I have no doubt they are, Lee. Their Captain has prepared them well.”

A small, tight smile formed on Lee's face as Harry watched him drift off to sleep.

As Harry turned to leave he saw Miss Mason standing in the doorway.

“I heard the Captain was ill. May I sit with him for awhile?”

Harry looked over at Jamie, who had turned at the sound of her voice. Jamie nodded his approval and Harry guided her over to the chair that he had just vacated.

He left sickbay just as worried about Lee as when he had followed the stretcher in earlier that morning. He couldn't do anything for Lee right now, but he could take care of his boat. Harry smiled to himself. Now when did that happen? When did Seaview become Lee's boat? There was no rivalry here. Seaview was as much Lee's boat as his. Harry designed her from the keel up, but it was Lee who made the boat and her crew respond which such precision.

* * * * *

Harry had just finished bringing the Alpha crew through her drill, they had performed well and he was proud of their effort and told them as much. He and Chip were going over the results in the Observation Lounge when Sparks informed him of a call from Fred Mason at Sea Star 2.

Harry walked to the video phone monitor on the back wall and turned the switch on. The fuzzy horizontal lines sharpened until it morphed into the face of Fred Mason.

“Admiral Nelson, I've called to make another appeal for you to stop by the Sea Star before proceeding on. I have some work here that is most urgent and I think you would be most interested in its results.”

Harry couldn't believe they were having this conversation yet again. “I'm sorry Dr. Mason, but the Ocean Blue Laboratory is in a precarious position with only one generator working. The potential for disaster dictates that we must go there first.”

“I see, I had hoped that we would have been able to convince you to come without intervention on our part, but I see now I was right to plan ahead.” Dr. Mason's strange comment elicited a frown on Harry's face.

“Just what do you mean by that?”

Mason looked past Harry into the lounge spotting Chip in the background, “Where is your Captain Crane? He's not unwell I trust? Or by now, perhaps he has collapsed and your doctor does not know the cause?”

Harry was fuming, as everything seemed to fall in place at once. “Just what do you know about Captain Crane's illness?”

Mason's smile was devious, and Harry's fury was barely being contained as he sought answers.

“Captain Crane has been given over the course of this last week, a daily dose of a very slow acting but very deadly poison. It is not a bacteria as your good doctor has probably surmised, and no amount of antibiotics will cure him. I have the antidote, and I suggest you bring the Captain to Sea Star 2 if you wish for him to survive.”

Mason smiled victoriously, “I will expect you shortly. Sea Star out.”

What was Mason thinking? It wasn't like Harry didn't know his address! What could he possibly hope to gain but a conviction for a stunt like this? Poisoning Lee, using the antidote to extort his will over Nelson, and for what? Right now, the only person who knew was sitting in sickbay with Lee right now, the one who had been feeding Lee the poison all week long.

“Come on Chip, Victoria Mason is in sickbay with Lee right now.”

* * * * *

Harry and Chip arrived in sickbay a few minutes later and found Victoria Mason holding Lee's hand, who was soundly asleep. Harry motioned for Jamie to join them, as he left his microscope wondering just what this was all about.

“Miss Mason, step away from Captain Crane please.” Harry's voice was in full command mode. Her head tilted downward and she laid his hand back down on the bunk as she talked.

“I didn't know it would make him this sick,” her voice was thin and whispery.

“You've been poisoning him all week long, just what did you expect it to do?” Harry was having a hard time keeping himself under control. Jamie's face registered the word “poison” immediately and leaned forward to check Lee's vitals again.

“What's going on Admiral?” Jamie asked as he moved in closer to Lee to examine him.

“Dr. Mason just called and insisted we stop by Sea Star. It seems that Victoria here has been feeding Lee a poison all week long. Mason claims that Lee will not recover without the antidote. Does that cover it Miss Mason?” Harry was hoping that the remorse he thought he saw was genuine.

“I have been putting it in his coffee...” her head lifted and she turned to face them, “my father is correct, you must administer the antidote or he will die.”

“But why? Why did you do this? Surely you must have know that your means of bringing us to the Sea Star could not be overlooked?”

“Yes, but the medical advancement of my father's experiments go beyond one man, or even the twenty at Ocean Blue. These experiments need your help to complete them, they have the potential to cure cancers of any kind.”

“Potential? You want me to overlook twenty lives for potential? Just how close is your father to publishing his findings.”

“He needs your nuclear reactors to finish his studies, he needs to irradiate the cultures. Then he can begin testing in the lab.”

“And just why is the timing so important, why not in one week?”

“Because it took a year to grow those cultures, they have a short life span, we must irradiate them within the next few days, or we will be set back by months of work.”

“Miss Mason, your father's work is an important one, but it is still theory. And I will not risk twenty people's lives over a theory, particularly one that can be reproduced in such a short time.”

“What about his life? Are you willing to sacrifice the Captain's for those twenty people?”

“Yes...he is.” Lee's weak voice sounded loud and clear behind them as they turned to face the prone captain.

“I would never trade twenty lives for mine. The Admiral knows that.” Lee grimaced and his eyes closed, as Jamie moved closer to Lee and adjusted his IV to release more pain medication.

“I think the decision has been made Miss Mason.” Harry turned toward Chip, whose stoic XO face was nearly beat red by now. “Escort Miss Mason to her quarters, she is to be confined until we reach the proper authorities.”

“Aye Sir.” Chip's face returned to its normal color as he led Miss Mason out by a firm grip on her elbow.

“Admiral, I'll return to the blood samples. If the poison masquerades as bacterial, than I believe I know the strain of poison that was used. We may have a break-through here.”

Harry nodded and sat down heavily in the chair along side the bunk, his eyes meeting the now open eyes of Lee's.

“You have no choice Admiral. You can't chance it with the unstable generator.” Lee's airy voice was reassuring to Harry. He would have made the same decision no matter what, but Lee had made it easy for him. Harry wished Farrell had made it as easy for Lee, but in the end it wouldn't had changed anything. It was who Lee was. Harry nodded in response to Lee's statement.

“I'll take Seaview through. You're job,” Harry gently admonished, “is to hold on for Jamie to find the antidote.”

Lee smiled again, “Aye Sir.” Harry squeezed his shoulder and stood to leave, it was time to navigate the Trench.

* * * * *

Admiral Nelson stood over the chart table studying his stop watch, “Turn.” Chip repeated the order, and the helmsman executed the turn with precision, after five seconds the boat resumed its forward motion and the crew sighed a collective sigh of relief.

“Excellent job men, you've done your Captain proud.” Harry turned his attention to the XO, “Chip dead slow, bring us over the top of Ocean Blue. Have Chief Jones prepare the diving bell for link up.”

Chip's affirmative was heard, as Harry left to supervise the movement of the new backup generator. They would repair the old generator and leave a second backup generator. Harry estimated ten hours to complete the project. It would be a long ten hours, and Harry hoped that Jamie had made some serious progress. He hated to put Lee's life in the hands of Dr. Mason and his vindictive sense of goal oriented morality.

* * * * *

Chip stood over Harry's shoulder as he peered down the microscope with Jamie standing to the side. “It looks like a match to me, Jamie,” Harry spoke as his attention shifted from the sample slide to the book with the poison derivative in question. “Yes, I'm sure of it.”

Harry raised his head and looked at Jamie smiling, “How long to ready the antidote?”

Jamie cocked his head, “I've got to grow the culture, another four or five hours I'd think.”

Harry's head jerked toward Lee, “How about your patient, is his condition stable enough to wait?”

“His condition has worsened, but he's at a plateau right now. If he remains in his present condition we'll be alright, if he takes a turn for the worst, I can't say.”

Chip and Harry nodded their understanding, “You just work up the antidote, we'll make ready to move Seaview back through the trench and head to Sea Star. We'll use whichever antidote we can get to first...but I'd rather use yours. I don't trust Mason.”

“Aye Sir, I'll get right on it.” Jamie moved with purpose preparing the slides he needed. He would need a fresh blood sample and sent his corpsman to retrieve it.

“Come on Chip, let's get Seaview to other side the trench.” Chip nodded and left with a purposeful stride in his step.

* * * * *

Lee laid in his bunk feeling each turn, anticipating the next turn before it happened. There were three turns till the end of the canyon, the trench widened there and Seaview would be safe. He felt the next turn and waited for the forward motion again counting off seconds in his mind. Turn. He made each order in his own mind and felt his boat obeying as if he were there in the control room. As the last turn was executed, he breathed a sigh of relief and thought about his crew.

Jamie had just given him another does of the pain medication and although it didn't keep him pain free, he was able to concentrate better. The more he thought of his crew the prouder he became. They had trained hard, and had executed the maneuvers with precision. The Trench had been a huge learning curve for all of them, but in the end they were a better crew for having navigated the dangerous chasm.

Lee took a deep breath, he wondered if he the metaphor of the trench could be applied to him as well. Was he a better commander for the awful experience of the last mission? He didn't think he could answer that, but he did know Farrell. He was a brave man who simply didn't want to die. He called for his captain to save him, but Lee had no doubt in his mind that Farrell would not have traded places with Ski or Patterson or even himself if he had been given a chance.

His choice wasn't really a choice, it was his duty. If he could have traded places with Farrell he would have, but he wouldn't betray his country in the process. He knew that Farrell knew that, at least that's what he understood about the young man in the months that he had gotten to know him and his crew. He needed to step back, and see the mission from that perspective.

Command bore a heavy burden, but for the most part, its rewards were worth the occasional deep trench he'd have to navigate. He would just have to do what he taught his crew to do, take each turn as it came. He breathed in again, and closed his eyes. He was too tired to labor on the thoughts any longer, and just let himself drift with the pain medication.

* * * * *

Seaview's helm executed it's last turn and moved back into its forward position as Harry stood with a satisfied grin on his face. Seaview was a large submarine, but she had made it through with the same ease Nautilus had all those years before. But the bravo zulus didn't just belong to the boat, her crew or even her designer. It also belonged squarely at the feet of the captain who had prepared his crew for the mission.

“Chip, set a course for Sea Star 2, I'll check with Jamie on his progress.”

Harry made his way to the aft hatch giving uncharacteristic pats on the crew's shoulders. As he walked to sickbay, his steps quickened, they had been too deep in the maneuvers to get an update on Lee. At this point he didn't know what he was going to find when he got there. As he entered sickbay he found Jamie over Lee's bunk taking vitals.

“Jamie?” Harry's one word spoke and entire question that Jamie understood.

“Holding his own Admiral. The culture is almost done, another hour and then I'll be able to test the antidote.”

Harry settled down into the vacant chair, and Jamie knew that he intended to wait out the results right there.

Lee eyes opened and he smiled a wide sincere smile. “Good crew, good boat, Sir.”

Harry smiled back, “Good Captain, Lee.”

“I wasn't even in the control room.”

“You were very much there, Captain.” Lee acquiesced graciously and took a painful breath.

“Jamie will be ready to test the antidote soon, well probably arrive as Sea Star 2 about the same time.”

Lee's eyes were heavy as he spoke, “I'll take my chances with Jamie's concoction over Mason's any day.”

Harry's half smile was a familiar sight to Lee, “I thought you'd say that.” He watched as Lee lost the battle to stay awake and settled in for the next hour's wait.

* * * * *

Harry and Chip both watched as Jamie administered the antidote to Lee. His test cultures had been inconclusive, with two cultures showing steady improvement and one culture revealing a failure. It was hardly a scientific sampling, but it was what it was, a one in three chance of failure. In the end, Lee himself asked for Jamie's antidote.

Lee was unconscious now as Jamie monitored his vitals, but so far his prognosis was good. He made improvements steadily and Jamie revised his condition as stable and improving.

Hours later Lee finally started to stir. His eyes were still closed as he came around slowly, but he was warm and dry, the chills and sweats having finally subsided. His eyes were still closed as he reached his left hand over to the bulkhead and touched the wall, smiling as he registered two-thirds speed, “Where you going in such a hurry?”

“We're headed home Lee.” He turned his head to the rich baritone voice of Admiral Nelson as he spoke. His body still ached but he wasn't cramping anymore, he realized that he must have been out for awhile.

“How long have I been out?”

“Jamie gave you the antidote about six hours ago, you've been making steady improvement since.”

“And Mason?”

“Dr. Mason is still at Sea Star, a military detachment is headed his way. Miss Mason is restricted to her quarters.”

Lee took a deep breath in and let it out, he was pretty tired of the mess and turned his attention back to the Trench and his crew.

“I felt the turns on the way back, felt good and tight.

“Seaview handled like a dream, Lee.”

Lee smiled and closed his heavy eyes, “Just one turn at a time...”

Harry wasn't sure, but he thought that meant something more to Lee just now, and maybe some of what he had been missing in Lee since the last mission had returned. Perhaps Lee would tell him about it when he was better, but he doubted it. For now, it was enough to know that Lee was back.

He rose from his chair, squeezing Lee's shoulder as he did so, “Rest easy Lad, we'll be home soon.”

The End

The Trench

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