ONE REFUGE
Chapter Four
by Teresa
By the time the SeaQuest team arrived at the meeting room in UEO headquarters, Ford was busting with anticipation, and incredibly irritable.
He had walked much quicker that the rest of the crew. The only person who had tried to keep up with him was Wade, who was keen to please. But even he kept his distance from the irate Commander.
Commander Ford entered the room first, followed by Wade.
“Can we begin the debriefing now, sir?” he asked angrily.
McGath looked up from where he sat at the head of the table, “As soon as the rest of your team arrives, Commander.”
The Commander looked behind him irritably. He ducked his head out the door just as O’Neill, Piccolo, Henderson and a meek looking Dagwood entered.
He glared at them, but none of them seemed affected except Dagwood. They all took their seats quickly.
“I assume you have more information that we do, Secretary?” the Commander almost demanded.
McGath didn’t pay much attention to the attitude, “We are aware that the SeaQuest was attacked and is now uncontactable.”
“Yes, sir. Our main problem is that we were concerned about re-booting our systems because it seems that we were attacked by UEO vessels, sir.”
The SeaQuest team looked at McGath, gauging his reaction. McGath didn’t respond as expected. He looked down at his hands and sighed.
“We’re very glad you’re alive,” he began.
“Many of the crew aren’t sir,” Henderson intercepted forcefully.
McGath looked at in surprise, “I..I’m sorry,” he stuttered, “I assume because you are all here...”
“Well, we’re not all here, sir,” Ford told him, “Eight of us left the SeaQuest. There are only seven of us here.”
He paused to make a point, “Also, we released escape pods. Four were destroyed. When we left, the bridge was littered with injuries, and the medical crew was having trouble reaching or contacting the injured elsewhere on board.”
McGath passed a hand over his forehead, extremely upset, “Oh God,” he looked up at them, recovering, “What about Captain Hudson?”
“He stayed with the boat, sir,” the Commander informed him.
“Life support?” McGath asked.
“It was forty-eight hours, sir,” O’Neill cut in grimly, “But Hudson only expected them to last out there for twenty-four.”
“It took us about eight hours to get here,” Commander Ford told him.
McGath nodded.
“Mind telling us what’s going on, sir?” Commander Ford asked him.
McGath leaned forward, “This is not to leave this room,” he said severely, “I’m serious. This is officially under wraps. The only people who know are the senior board.”
The crew nodded.
McGath sighed, his head down, "We have a renegade within the ranks, but we don't know who it is."
"You mean someone's trying to over throw the UEO, sir?" Tony asked, horrified.
McGath nodded, "It looks that way. Only, we some of our ships that have got haywire are a result of bribary and UEO officers choosing to betray us, others have been tricked. There's no way of telling which ones are which."
He looked around the room grimly, "So that's our situation."
***
Kirstin listened to her stethoscope, watching Lucas intently with a thoughtful look on her face.
"How's he doing?"
She sighed thoughtfully again, "He's going to be alright," she said promisingly.
She watched as Nathan relaxed in relief.
"We know what he's been infected with," she said as she brushed his hair back to check the temperature on his forehead, "There's not much we can do except wait for the poison to leave his system."
She took off her microscope, "Basic anti-biotics should help his system fight the poison."
"Well that's a relief," Nathan rolled his head back.
"It is," she said, giving a nod as she stood up, "I was worried that we were going to have to give him an antidote or something."
Nathan nodded and the two shared a moment of relieved silence.
"Would you like a drink?" he offered.
She 'snapped out of it', "Oh! Yes, that would be lovely, thankyou."
She followed him into the kitchen and watched him pour two glasses of iced water.
She took a sip as he handed the glass to her.
"How long until he recovers?" Nathan asked her as he beckoned her to sit at the table.
She finished swallowing before she answered, "Quite a while. A few days before he can get out of bed. I think a few weeks before he fully recovers."
Nathan was suprised, "A few weeks," he sat down in the chair more slowly.
"Well, yes," she was a little upset by Bridger's suprise at the length of time, "It's not going to be fun for him either," she turned in her chair and looked into the other room, "Poor dear."
"He'll be alright," Bridger assured her.
She turned back and nodded at him, running her hands around his glass. There was silence for a few moments as each of them decided how to start.
Kristin took a breath through her nose, "So he joined the navy."
Nathan looked up at her, "Yeah," he answered shortly.
She looked at him intently, "How did that affect you?"
He scoffed, "It wasn't about me, was it?" He took another sip of his drink, swallowing angrily.
"Well," she answered, "Of course it was. You care about him don't you?"
He raised his eyebrows, "Well.. I do.." He wasnt sure how to respond to that.
He shrugged, "But.. I'm not his father, I guess."
She knotted her eyebrows, "Well, no.. but you have been a big part of his life."
"Huh," he grunted, "A little too big, it looks like."
"Why?" she asked, suprised.
He sighed, "What did he think he was doing, Kristin? He knew what I'd think about it."
He wiped his face, upset.
"Nathan, have you talked to him about it?"
"Oh, he's not interested in talking," he commented in his semi-sarcastic tone.
She looked away, exasperated, "You deserve each other."
He stopped, "Excuse me?"
"He's not going to know if you don't say anything. You'll just hurt him with your animosity."
"Oh, I've already said a thing or two," he nodded, adopting his reprimanding tone, "He's not interested."
Her eyes widened, "What have you said?"
"Oh.. I don't remember exactly."
"So you vented on the poor boy and then didnt bother to explain yourself!" she stated, annoyed.
Nathan scoffed at her anger, "This is a two way problem you know, Kristin." He waved his hand back and forth to indicate Lucas in the next room.
She spluttered, "Well, you're not exactly working up to your end!"
"What do you want me to do!?" he demanded.
"Talk to him, see how he feels!" she exclaimed, "Do you even know why he joined up? The circumstances?"
"I know it was the wrong decision to make," he scoffed.
"That's the wrong attitude," she reprimanded, "It may have been.. but you need to listen to him.. support him anyway."
He was silent as he looked away. She pursed her lips and sat back in her chair, watching him.
"Nathan, you can't just leave this."
"Oh?" He stood up and took his glass to the sink, "I don't think there's really much else I can do about it."
She rolled her eyes in exasperation and stood up, "You think people like Lucas come several times in one lifetime?"
She pointed into the lounge room, "You two, have a special bond..."
Nathan turned away and faced the window so she changed tactics, "He needs you.. and you need him, Nathan.."
She sighed, "What if that poison had been life threatening?"
He turned to face her, "I don't want to think about that."
"Why not?"
He stared at her, "Why not?"
She watched him, waiting for him to answer.
"You know the answer to that, Kristin," he scolded.
She raised her eyebrows, "But do you?"
At his silence she continued, "Go in and look at him, Nathan."
He shook his head even before she finished the sentence, "I don't need to look at him, I know what he looks like."
"What he's going through?"
He sighed exasperated, "I don't want to watch him in pain."
She stared at him sadly, "But... you have no problem with hurting him the way you have been?"
He clicked his tongue, "It's a different kind of pain."
"It's still pain," she told him grimly.
She left the sentence hanging as they stood in silence.
***
The SeaQuest bridge was relatively quite. Nothing looked too different from usual, officers moved around, carrying out their respective duties. There was plenty to do, more than usual even. But something hung in the air that wasn't quite right.
"Simons," Hudson addressed the officer he'd put on sensors, "Any movement?"
"No sir," he responded, "It's been quiet for the last four hours. Ever since we got sensors up again."
Hudson nodded seriously, thinking. He bent his head for a few moments then put it up again, "Dallas? How is the state of this tub?"
"Repairs are moving along as expected, sir. But I'm not sure that SeaQuest is ready for a fight just yet."
Hudson sighed, "She's always ready for a fight if we need her, Ensign."
He turned to communications, obviously not as comfortable with these group of officers as he had become with the standard senior crew, "How are communications?"
"Still out, sir," the officer shook his head.
He sighed and nodded, "Alright, once you get them up, and/or we receive word from our shore crew, let me know."
He turned around to leave his chair when the officer spoke up, "'And/or, sir? How will they contact us without communications?"
The Captain turned around to face him, not sure if he should admit what he contemplated, "I'm hoping Wolenczak will think of something."
***
"So where's Ensign Wolenczak?" McGath asked the crew in the finely furnished breifing room.
Commander Ford sighed, "He was injured, sir."
McGath's face registered a suprising amount of horror as he processed the news, "Why isn't he with you? You should have at least kept the body..."
"Oh God!" Henderson exclaimed, distraught.
"He's not dead!" Piccilo corrected bluntly, "He was just injured. We dropped him of on Nathan Bridger's island."
"Nathan Bridger?" McGath lifted his head.
Tony caught the warning looks from his other crew members and realised that he probably shouldn't have blurted out the information with so little thought.
Commander Ford sighed again, "That's right, Lucas was seriously injured during our attempt to dock for re-fueling at a nearby colony."
McGath looked around the table, wanting more of an explanation.
O'Neill explained, "They must have assumed we were Macronesian because of our unwillingness to take a ride from another vessel, sir."
McGath sat back in his chair and nodded, "Is Bridger aware of the problem?"
"Yes, sir. We had to inform him," Ford responded.
McGath nodded, "Okay.. well I was hoping to be able to discuss some things with both of them."
The SeaQuest crew raised their eyebrows.
McGath explained, "Well, Wolenczak is quite handy to have around in this sort of crisis, and.. well, I trust Bridger."
"You tried to contact him, sir?" O'Neill guessed.
McGath nodded, "He wasnt answering his phone."
"He might have been busy with Lucas," Henderson mumbled.
McGath stood up, pressing his comm button, "Admiral Noyce to the wardroom please."
He looked the SeaQuest crew, "While you were freshening up, the Admiral and I got together our game plan."
The crew stood and saluted as the door opened and Noyce walked in to stand over near McGath.
Noyced nodded at them, "At ease. You can sit down."
McGath looked at Noyce for confirmation to pass on the information and then addressed the group as they sat down.
"We're withdrawing all maritime vessels under the UEO, clearing the seas," McGath announced, "We're also arming several black stealth vessels to apprehend any unwilling vessels."
He looked around, "Once we've done that we can start sifting through the mess."
"What about the SeaQuest?" Jonathan Ford asked him, "Or other vessels like the SeaQuest?"
"The smaller vessels we can tow in," Noyce told him, "As for the SeaQuest or any larger vessel, well, she's got a repair crew on board. They shouldn't need too much help from us."
"Sir," Tim said, his eyes mostly focused on the table in front of him, "Life support and communications are down. How are they suppose to know they can surface and head toward the nearest dock if you're clearing the seas and not allowing any UEO vessels in the water?"
"Once we've cleared the seas," Noyce indicated with his hands, "We'll send you all back out there to deliver the okay, and we'll have a black stealth escort your pod there, and the SeaQuest into the nearest dock."
There was a pause for a moment as the crew digested the information.
Ford quizzed them on the plan, "Sir, what if this is a tactic the Macronesians.. or.. someone.. are using to lower our defences and attack?"
McGath sighed and the two of them looked at each other, "We've already considered that possibility. Firstly it's doubtful that we'll be attacked during the crisis. It's not a typical Chadoi tactic and the Macronesians aren' ready for war."
Noyce took over, "For extra security, we have a line of black steathers arming the border."
"Geez, you really trust these 'black steathers'," Tony commented.
Both Noyce and McGath ignored him, "We're hoping to have the seas cleared in ten hours."
"Ten hours!?" Henderson exclaimed. "To clear all the seas!?"
"It's a long shot, Lieutenant but we think we can do it," Noyce told her.
He nodded and turned to leave.
"In the meantime," McGath told them, "You get comfortable before you need to head out. We have guest quarters provided."
"What about Lucas?" Ford asked him. Off their looks he added, "I.. I mean I realise he's the last concern at the moment, but.."
"He'll have to get comfortable where he is for the time being," McGath told them.
He paused for a few moments before following Noyce out, leaving the team to sit in silence.
"I hope he's alright," Henderson spoke through the silent room.
***
"I thought you said he was alright!" Nathan cried in horror as he tried to hold Lucas down on the couch.
Kristin stood behind him, holding Lucas' legs as the sick boy thrashed around, "Nathan, he's not alright. He's been poisoned. What I meant was he will be alright."
Lucas cried out as though he was being attacked by something and losing.
"How long will this last?" Bridger cried.
"Nathan, I don't know!" Kristin called out, the frustration in her voice a mixture of Lucas' pain and her frustration at his gaurdian.
As suddenly as it started, the thrashing stopped.
The two of them held their respective positions for a few moments until they were certain Lucas was settled.
Kristin let go of his legs carefully and pushed Nathan out of the way. She sat down next to Lucas and checked his temperature.
"Could you hand me that cloth please?"
Nathan handed her the cold wet towel and she placed it over the young man's brow and around his face. She looked at him for a few moments and brushed his hair back affectionately and cupped his face.
Sighing, she turned to Nathan, who was crouching down near them, his hands resting on his knees, "You'll probably need to get him a carer for the next few weeks."
"A carer? Why?" he asked her.
"Well, he's going to need constant attention. He should be okay to stand for a little while for short periods of time but he's going to be weak and exhausted for a long time."
"I can do that," Nathan told her in a matter-of-fact tone.
She sighed, rolling her eyes slightly, "He's going to needs someone to feed him, help him dress, bath, give him anti-biotics," she sighed again, "It's a 24 hour job, Nathan. I can't do it..." she paused for a few moments looking at him, cupping one cheek again, "I wish I could, but I have work. So do you."
Nathan scoffed slightly, "I can work from home if I want to.."
"You have a grandson, don't you?"
"He'll be home in a few days from staying with Julie. It's not as though I can't look after the both of them."
She looked at him seriously, lifting an eyebrow, "Won't Micheal get jealous?"
Nathan finally stood up fully, "Well... he might. But I think it'll be good for him. He needs to learn how to share."
Kristin lifted her eyebrows in an 'okay, but I think you're biting off more than you can chew manner', but didnt say anything.
"Okay," she shrugged, "But he can't stay on the sofa the whole time."
"Well there's a spare bed in the other room," Nathan said, walking out of the living room towards the door, "I'll set that up for him."
Kristin nodded and got up, patting Lucas's chest as she left him, "I'm hoping once he regains consciousness he'll be okay to walk with a bit of help. That way we cant get him into a bath and into a proper bed."
Nathan didnt answer as he collected some sheets from the linen cupboard and opened a dark brown wooden door that was adjacent to the living room.
Kristin got her first look inside the bedroom, and the double bed in the middle, facing a large window with white curtains pulled to the side that looked out at the beach and the ocean. On the right side of the bed, closest to the door, was small bedside table with a bedside lamp on it, and further off to the side was a cupboard.
"You think he'll regain consciousness sometime today?" Nathan asked her as he pulled back the covers to set up the bed.
"Here's hoping," she said, casting a glance into the living room, "I can't wait to get him out of that awful uniform."