CAIN AND ABEL
CHAPTER FIVE
Tim had been on bridge duty when Lucas had returned from Toya colony and been taken to med bay. He subsequently didn’t find out that something was wrong until he finished his shift and met up with Tony on the way to the mess hall. Tony looked tired and pale and Tim was immediately aware that something awful had happened. Tony had taken his arm and guided him to some place private to quietly explain Lucas’ condition. Although Tim was upset about the news that Lucas may have been tortured, he couldn’t contain his relief when he discovered that Lucas’ injuries weren’t life threatening.
Tim was the one sitting with Lucas as the teenager first began to regain consciousness. Lucas gave a small groan and rolled his head to the side before attempting to open his eyes. Tim stood up quietly and took Lucas’ hand as he woke up.
The two of them just looked at each other for a few moments, “Tim?” Lucas’ voice was barely audible.
“Yeah,” Tim looked at him worriedly, fear and shock was etched into the communications officer’s face, “How are you feeling?”
Lucas shifted uncomfortably, his eyes scrunching up in pain, “I’ll tell you in a few seconds,” Lucas groaned.
Lucas let out a heavy sigh, his eyes still closed. Tim gave in to the urge to stroke the soft blond hair, which had a golden tint up against the white pillow.
“Ow,” Lucas winced again as he tried to move his back.
“You have some morphine here,” Tim took a hold of the small button and put it into Lucas’ hand, “You just push this button when it hurts,” he told him gently.
“Not that arm,” Lucas complained. He opened his eyes to look at Tim, feeling a little guilty, “It hurts… that arm,” he looked at his arm so he didn’t have to look his friend in the eye, “Even to move the fingers.”
Tim nodded quietly, only just noticing the thick bandage around Lucas’ right underarm and shoulder. He took the morphine line and drew it around behind the head of Lucas’ bed, so that the young man could take the button with his other hand. The fingers of that hand were wrapped in a soft white tissue, as was the upper arm.
Lucas gratefully took a hold of the button and pushed it a few times, putting his head back to relax.
Tim looked at his shoulder and reached out to touch it gently, “Dislocated?” he asked quietly.
“No,” Lucas said as he closed his eyes again, “It was a… … … boiling needle… … through my armpit,” Lucas’ voice became slightly slurred as he pumped the morphine a few more times, “Geez, it hurts. It feels like I’ve been stung by dozens of bees in the same spot. My whole arm hurts like hell.”
Tim’s expression changed to slightly more shocked. He slowly took his hands away, “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Lucas felt guilty by the pain in Tim’s voice. He opened his eyes and looked at Tim for a few seconds, “No,” Lucas shook his head slowly, “Thanks for being here,” Lucas’ voice was barely understandable. Tim noticed that Lucas’ body had begun to relax in relief. Slowly, Lucas’ fingers loosened on the button and the boy stopped moving he as lost consciousness again.
Tim was never one for outward affection. It tended to make him uncomfortable. He put his hand on the top of Lucas’ head. A sudden wave of emotion hit him and he released Lucas’ hair, covering his own mouth with his other hand to control himself, quickly turning away. He hurriedly pushed the curtain aside and walked out of there briskly, not even stopping as he brushed Tony’s shoulder on the way out in his haste. Tony looked after him silently for a few moments, then turned back to look sadly in the direction of Lucas’ bed.
***
It took Lucas a few days to recover enough to be able to talk to Hudson about his experience. By this time, Hudson had been able to speak on numerous occasions with SeaQuest’s more than willing resident Macronesians.
“Is he well enough for a chat?” Hudson asked Perry in a semi-exasperated tone. It was clear they were in the middle of a conversation.
“He should be fine,” Perry said to him, “I was actually going to release him tomorrow.”
“Alright,” Hudson sighed. He turned to Commander Ford who was standing near him and the two made their way over to Lucas’ bed.
Lucas was sitting up reading a magazine. He was still wrapped up in all his bandages but his face had more colour and he seemed a lot stronger. Hudson marveled at the inner strength of the young man. He had never thought Lucas to be a coward but he had never thought the computer whiz would be able to go through what had happened to him and still remain the man he was.
“Mr Wolenczak,” Hudson greeted, pulling up a chair.
“Hello, sir,” Lucas responded, putting his magazine down, “Commander,” Lucas acknowledge Commander Ford who stood near the foot of the bed.
“How are you feeling?” Hudson began.
“Well enough to get back into things, sir,” Lucas told him a matter of factly.
“Not so fast,” Hudson warned, “Perry wont let you out so easily if she thinks your going to jump back into full time duty.”
“I’m ready to talk about what happened,” Lucas said bravely.
Hudson took a breath in. He wasn’t a very good counselor. Actually, he wasn’t a people person at all, but he thought he owed Lucas the respect of listening to what happened. Lucas noticed the look on Hudson’s face and realised what he thought he meant.
“Ah, what I mean is, they thought I was someone else,” Lucas told him, correcting Hudson towards the fact that he wanted to discuss the information he had received.
Hudson lifted his eyebrows in surprise, “The men who interrogated you?”
“Yes,” Lucas told him. Jonathan shifted his feet at the side of the bed.
“Who did they think you were?” Hudson asked him.
“I think someone from Section Seven,” Lucas explained.
Hudson and Ford looked at each other, incredible confusion written all over their faces.
“What?” Hudson recoiled in confusion, “Wait. They thought _you_ were Section Seven?”
Lucas nodded, “That’s right.”
“Then who the hell were they?” Ford asked.
“They didn’t give me any ideas on that, sir,” Lucas said, “But, during the ah, interrogation, they did mention some things that were very strange.”
Ford and Hudson looked at him expectantly, “They kept asking, ‘What do you know about the Section Seven operation in Macronesia?’”
“ ‘The Section Seven operation in Macronesia’,” Ford repeated, mulling over what this could mean.
“Any ideas on what this operation was about?” Hudson asked.
Lucas screwed up his face, thinking hard, “No. They did say something about accusing the Macronesian escapees,” Lucas shook his head in confusion, “They sounded sarcastic.”
Ford nodded, “The Macronesians we found said that they had escaped custody from someone. They didn’t know who.”
Lucas gave him an enquiring look, “We found two Macronesians hiding out in Toya colony. They said they had escaped from someone,” Ford explained.
“The men who held me thought that I had turned off the power. They didn’t believe me when I told them I was from the SeaQuest and that I was there to put it back online,” Lucas said thoughtfully, trying to piece together the puzzle.
“And they thought you were Section Seven,” Hudson continued. He turned to Ford, understanding something, “These people thought that Section Seven had turned off the power.”
Ford looked pensive, “The UEO said it was the Macronesians.”
Hudson nodded, “But the Macronesians we have deny it.”
“Of course,” Ford said.
“I believe them,” Hudson said quietly.
“So do I,” Ford agreed. Lucas nodded his head.
“So Section Seven is up to its old tricks again,” Hudson said, standing slowly.
Ford narrowed his eyes slightly, “So why did they let you go?”
Lucas didn’t know the answer to this either. He opened his mouth and then closed it. Then opened it again, “I kept telling them I was from the SeaQuest and what my name was,” Lucas told them. He paused for a few moments while the men waited patiently.
“They just got angrier,” Lucas said, his voice growing a little quieter as he tried not to remember the white room, the constant fear and frustration, the incredible pain… Lucas breathed in, “When they had finished they took me into a room and another man came in….” Lucas’ voice died down until it was almost inaudible. He knew Ford and Hudson thought he was stressed about the torture. They were right. But the thing bothering Lucas more was the man that came in later. How he knew Lucas’ name. How he had believed him immediately. Lucas wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell his commanding officers.
“He believed me, I think,” Lucas finished quickly.
“That’s a bit strange,” Ford commented.
“Yeah, I guess but I don’t really want to talk about it,” Lucas cut in quickly, fobbing them off.
“Thank you very much, Mr Wolenczak,” Hudson put his hand on Lucas shoulder to show his respect to the younger officer, “Perry says you will be released tomorrow. But only for very light duty.”
Lucas nodded, pleased, “Thank you, sir.”
Ford patted Lucas’ leg affectionately. Relieved that there were people who cared about him so much, Lucas gave Ford a smile.
“I will be calling McGath,” Hudson told Ford as the two of them left med bay, “The UEO needs to know that they were wrong in the assumption that Section Seven is entirely responsible for Ensign Wolenczak,” Hudson paused, “But they may be responsible for something else.”
***
McGath shook his head at Hudson over the vidlink, refusing to believe or comment on what he was being told, “You’re blaming Section Seven for turning off the power in Toya Colony?”
“The people interrogating my Ensign believed that, the Macronesians accused deny that they did it, both the Macronesians and Ensign Wolenczak’s stories seem to confirm each other,” Hudson listed off the evidence.
“They’re Macronesians, they lie,” McGath said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Hudson leaned forward, fuming, “They’re _people_,” Hudson corrected, “And we already know Section Seven can’t be trusted.”
“Well unfortunately, Captain, it is none of your business what is going on with Section Seven,” McGath informed him.
Hudson drew back in shock, “What?”
“I will let you know when and if this matter concerns you, Captain,” McGath said strictly, “McGath out.”
The screen faded to black. Leaving Hudson standing in shock and anger.
***
Micah waved his hands desperately as he stood on the edge of the water, hailing the Macronesian sub several miles off the UEO border. Eventually, he was relieved to see the green light blinking on the top of the small ship, letting him know he had been seen. They were coming to rescue him.
***
“Early this evening Alexander Bourne made an international statement publicly condemning the UEO for kidnapping their citizens,” the newsreader announced.
Almost every available vidlink aboard the SeaQuest was set on the news and surrounded by members of the crew. Commander Ford was standing stiffly with his arms folded in the same room as several other officers, staring at the screen intently.
“Twenty-three-year-old Micah Kensington returned to Macronesian territory early yesterday where he was treated for mild shock and dehydration…” the reader continued.
“So there _were_ three of them,” Commander Ford cursed under his breath.
“The part time soldier claims that while he was taken when he was wearing the Macronesian alliance uniform, many other innocent Macronesian citizens he was held with were taken while on leave or had nothing to do with Macronesian government activities or military service.”
The news reader continued, “The UEO has not yet commented on whether they were responsible for the unwarranted kidnappings but it is believed that the fleet’s largest ship, the SeaQuest, may be holding some of the victims.”
Several crewmembers gasped in shock at the comments on the international broadcast.
“I guess it should be our business now,” Commander Ford heard someone growl from the doorway. He turned to find Hudson snarling furiously at the news broadcast before turning around and walking back towards his quarters.
***
Lucas walked towards the mess hall slowly and carefully. It felt wonderful to finally be free of restraints. His right arm was in a sling and his burns were still covered but apart from that and a few dull aches, Lucas was feeling quite well. He was meant to be meeting Tony at the mess hall for lunch and was surprised how much he was looking forward to it. Despite the fact that he was extremely hungry, he had only been eating medbay’s hospital food, which, surprisingly enough, was much worse than any of the other food available.
“Hey Lucas!” Tony called out to him from where he was waiting in the corridor outside the mess. It was clear he hadn’t been waiting terribly long because he wasn’t fidgeting and bouncing around like he tended to when he was kept waiting.
Lucas smiled broadly, “Hey Tony,” he greeted.
“Hotdogs and hamburgers for lunch!” Tony interrupted him, reaching his hand out for Lucas to hurry up.
Lucas gave a slight chuckle and hurried quickly into the crowded lunchroom.
The two men sat down together with their lunch, Lucas already taking a bite before he sat down, “Everyone else on duty?” Lucas asked through a mouthful of hotdog and sauce. It never ceased to impress Tony how Lucas was always somehow able to talk while he was eating without showing his food.
“Yeah,” Tony told him, “I know Tim’s still on for another couple of hours and,” he looked at his watch, “I’ve got duty in the next half an hour too.”
“Oh,” Lucas commented realising that Tony had sacrificed most of his well-earned break to wait for him, “Well, thanks for having lunch with me.”
Tony smiled as he chewed on his food, “Sure thing, Luc. It’s good to see you looking so good. You had us pretty worried.”
Lucas shrugged, “So how are you dealing with the new stripes?”
Tony looked down at his Lieutenant stripes with pride, “Well, ya know. Extra responsibility. Hudson wants me to do some extra tactical training.”
Lucas lifted his eyebrows and nodded, noticing the way Tony’s voice was laced with pride, “You’re really getting into this aren’t you, Tony?”
“Well,” Tony changed his tone, “I’m still only junior grade,” he smiled, “But I guess the important thing is that I finally outrank you.”
Lucas slumped in mock defeat, a smile creeping out from the edge of his mouth.
Tony finished off his hotdog and wiped his hands on the napkin, “Seconds?” he suggested.
“No,” Lucas decided as he got up from his chair, “actually that hotdog filled me up more than I expected.”
“Okay, well I’m going to get some more food.”
Lucas hesitated, “You want me to sit with you?”
“No,” Tony fobbed him off as he got up himself, “You go see Darwin. He’s busting to see you.”
“Okay sure,” Lucas said, pushing in his chair, “Well I’ll see you after your shift finishes.”
“Nah, that won’t be ‘till late. I’ll come by the moon pool before I go on duty,” Tony offered.
“Okay sure,” Lucas smiled before he turned around to leave the mess hall.
Lucas felt a little funny as he left the walked down the corridor away from the mess. The hotdog had certainly filled him up more than expected, but it hadn’t made his stomach feel very good. In fact, he was feeling a lot more nauseous and sore than he had been before he went to get something to eat.
Worried, he wondered if he should go see Doctor Perry. But he didn’t want to bother her with something that may turn out to be nothing.
By the time he reached the moon pool his nausea had gotten much worse, and he was starting to worry that he really might throw up. He stopped and held his stomach, taking in some deep breaths. After a few moments it didn’t get worse so Lucas stood up again and walked into the moon area slowly. The stronger smell of seawater made him feel a bit better, but only for a few seconds.
He rushed towards the nearby change rooms as he felt the back of throat convulsing. He just made it to the toilet where he vomited violently and heavily. He retched a few more times before he was able to stand up and control himself.
“What a nasty hotdog,” Lucas muttered to himself as he flushed and went over to the sink. Lucas washed his mouth out and splashed water on his face with his free hand. The cool water on his face was a bit of an unpleasant shock to his warm skin. Lucas shuddered and noticed that he was getting very light headed. He decided that he definitely needed some rest, and planned to go straight back to his quarters as soon as he had seen Darwin.
Lucas made his way down the steps towards the pool and leaned up against it. He tapped the side of the tank because he didn’t want to get the bandages on his free hand wet by splashing it in the water. Lucas was really feeling a lot worse than he had less than half an hour ago when he had happily gone down to meet Tony at the mess.
He tapped the side of the tank again and waited for Darwin. The dolphin didn’t seem to be coming. Maybe he couldn’t feel the vibration through the water. Lucas sighed tiredly. He felt his stomach tense up slightly and furrowed his eyebrows irritably, reaching his hand up to hold onto it. Suddenly his stomach cramped horribly, causing him to double over and cry out. The pain began to dissipate slowly.
He stayed bent over waiting for it to go away. Instead, he felt it cramp again. It wasn’t the type of stomach pain he had even felt before, he cried out again despairingly and leaned down closer to the floor. The pain continued and he fell to the floor in agony, trying to curl himself up to ease it. Lucas took a few gasping breaths and opened his eyes; looking into the glass of the moon pool and saw that Darwin just arrived.
His stomach cramped again and Lucas no longer cared.
“Lucas?” an extremely worried voice called out to him.
Lucas realised that the pain in his stomach wasn’t so bad anymore, but found that he didn’t feel like sitting up. He opened his eyes and saw Doctor Perry kneeling next to him. How did she get here so quick? He looked around the moon pool groggily and realised he must have passed out. About three other medics stood over him, ready to take him back to medbay.
“Darwin said you were hurt,” she told him as she lifted the back of his head of the harshly grated metal floor.
“It’s my stomach. I think it was what I ate for lunch,” Lucas managed.
Perry looked at him worriedly, noting how pale his face looked, “How about we get you back to medbay and we try to find out what’s wrong,” she suggested.
Lucas nodded gently and allowed the medics to put him onto a stretcher.
***
The lines on Dr Perry’s face creased as she looked at the blood sample carefully. With her other hand, she brought her PAL to her mouth and activated it, “Captain?”
“This is Commander Ford,” was the response, “Hudson is busy.”
“Well, this is Doctor Perry. I need one of you down here now.”
“We have a crisis situation at the moment,” Ford responded crisply, “Only if it’s urgent.”
“Of course it’s urgent,” Perry responded irritably, but calmly, “Ensign Wolenczak collapsed.”
There was silence for a few moments, “Is he alright?”
Perry lifted the blood sample up higher so that the light reflected through it, “I don’t think so.”