Please be
advised that there is some very slight erotica as well as a brief segment of
intense violence that some might find disturbing.
Sequel to Knight Errant, there are references to
the story. All you really need to know
is that Lee is a fully functioning knight, but not Knighted in the royal
sense. A warning was given that when he
acquired a cat there was a ‘test’ coming.
He was injured during the course of the story. In medieval armed combat he had to kill his
opponent to survive. A cat lent a
helping claw. This story picks up with
no time lag between. Thanks extended to
Pauline for her encouragement and for sharing one of her ‘locked’ stories with
me and thus inspiring me to take a different view of Nelson’s sister. A way more fun one. Thanks also to Kate for her kind words and assuring
me that in the Voyage Universe, anything goes!
As usual all errors etc
are mine.
Knight Light - Dizzy
Dolphin
Waking
aboard his beloved Seaview was one of Lee’s favourite things. The upgrade to some of the boat’s systems was
now complete and they would be departing today for
He
began to stretch in his bunk but then suddenly froze; there was an odd weight
on his stomach. He looked down to find a
silver tabby cat looking back at him, large green eyes flecked with gold. OK,
he thought, guess I wasn’t dreaming, the
cat is in my cabin. The cat
in question stood up on Lee’s stomach, arched its back in a feline stretch and,
in the process, unsheathed impressive claws.
It jumped down to the deck, paced several steps away, turned and curling
its tail around its body sat looking expectantly at Lee.
Lee
swung his legs over the edge of his bunk and thought things over. He supposed he was in violation of some law about
transferring animals from one country to another. Although technically he didn’t do a thing, the
cat just showed up. Hmm, if the cat stays on Seaview then I’m going to need supplies and
pretty quickly, things like cat litter. He wasn’t thrilled about that aspect of cat
care. There would have to be litter
boxes in other places besides his cabin, the cat should be free to roam around
the boat.
While
contemplating cat care issues and trying to decide whom he could assign to
‘litter duty’, Lee got ready for the day.
As he left the head, the cat strode in and gave a loud yowl. Lee looked down at the cat, “umm, sorry I
don’t speak ‘cat’”. The cat yowled again
and put one paw up on the toilet lid.
Lee shrugged. The cat pawed the
lid again. Curious, Lee lifted the lid,
the cat jumped up and bracing itself on the rim took care of the call of
nature, and then jumped down. Lee almost
tripped over the lip of the shower stall, having taken a step back in his
surprise.
“No
way!” He exclaimed with considerable
volume.
The
cat proceeded to jump back up on the bunk, wash its face, and generally tidy up.
There
was a quick knock on Lee’s door, it opened, and Chip stuck his head in, “Did
you just shout ‘No Way’, what’s up?”
Lee
was trying to think of a reply when Chip spotted the tabby. “Ah Lee, you seem to have a cat on your
bunk.”
“Great
powers of observation Sherlock.”
“A
little testy this morning, aren’t we. Amazing
how these critters keep getting onboard, you want me to take him topside for
you?” Chip opened the door the rest of
the way in order to enter and get the cat.
“Hands
off my cat Mr. Morton,” Lee warned, walking over to his bunk.
“Your
cat! The Admiral’s never going to let
you keep him Lee, or is it a her?”
“He’s
a he and the Admiral will so let me keep him.”
“Wanna
bet?”
“Out,”
Lee barked. In reply to Lee’s order, Chip
stuck his tongue out, so Lee let fly with a pillow. Chip easily ducked it, but Admiral Nelson did
not. The Admiral had been on his way to
breakfast when he had heard raised voices from the direction of Lee’s
cabin. He had headed towards the noise
to see what was going on and arrived just in time to be the recipient of Lee’s airborne
pillow as it flew past Chip and out the door.
The
Admiral examined the item that had collided with him, and then held it out to
Chip. “Mr. Morton I believe Captain
Crane may be missing a pillow.” He tried
to maintain a stern expression. Truthfully, he quite enjoyed catching the
Captain and his XO in their ‘little boys’ mode.
“Gentlemen
I expect you both to join me for breakfast in the wardroom.” He then continued down the corridor,
chuckling to himself. He had caught a
glimpse of Lee beyond the door, Yes
indeed, not often you see a half dressed Captain Crane lobbing a pillow at his
XO. He laughed aloud, causing heads
to turn as he passed a couple of crewmembers, who wondered what they had
missed.
.....
“Not
a word Chip.”
“Do
knights have pets?”
“That’s
four words.”
“Apparently
they throw pillows.”
Chip
knew when to beat a hasty retreat, as Lee stalked towards him he tossed the
pillow at Lee and scooted out the door calling back, “see you at
breakfast.” He then hightailed it down
the corridor after the Admiral.
Not many
minutes later Lee entered the wardroom, picked up a plate and put more than his
usual amount of food on it. He joined
the Admiral and Chip at their customary table.
The
Admiral surveyed Lee’s plate, “That’s encouraging Lee, work up bit of an appetite
this morning?”
“Yes
Sir, had a good night’s sleep too.”
The
Admiral could not resist, “Have enough pillows?”
“Ah,
yes Sir...sorry about that.”
“Hmmmm,”
was all the response Lee got.
“Find
anything interesting in your cabin this morning Lee?” Chip asked, and in consequence received a
sharp kick under the table from Lee.
“Ouch!”
Nelson
wondered what Chip had been up to. While
a little high spirits were all to the good, Lee still wasn’t fully recovered
from his injuries and the Admiral didn’t want Chip harassing him too much.
I’ll need to have a quiet word with Mr.
Morton.
“Admiral,”
Lee began, “do you remember my telling you about how I managed to...,” he
stalled out, he didn’t like thinking about it, much less putting it in
words. He’d had to choice but to kill
his opponent, but it still left a bad feeling in his gut. He abhorred the loss of a life, even to save
his own.
The
Admiral knew what Lee was referring to, and wondered why he was bringing it up.
“Yes
Lee, I remember your account of the fight.”
“I
was wondering why the cat did what it did, Sir.”
“I
have no idea Lee, I’m just very grateful that the cat, for whatever reason,
distracted the man before he managed to kill you.”
“Yes
Sir, laying there I was certain he was about to drive his sword through my gut
and pin me to the ground,” Lee shuddered. “I owe that cat a lot.”
“I
guess we all do lad,” replied the Admiral. He was finding the conversation rather odd,
Lee never brought up his experiences like this.
It required a great deal of heavy duty manoeuvring to get Lee to talk
about any injuries he sustained, to get him to open up about his feelings was
near impossible. The Admiral was pleased
that upon occasion he could get Lee to open up to him, it was an encouraging
sign of the trust and respect that was continuing to grow between them.
“Wish
I could be sure that the cat has a good home,” Lee continued.
“I do
too.”
“You
do Admiral?”
“Well
of course I do Lee. As I said, I
personally feel very grateful to that cat.”
“Thank
you Admiral, it means a lot to me,” Lee smiled.
The Admiral
still puzzled about the whole discussion replied, “You’re very welcome Lee. There are still a few things we need to
discuss about our cruise, meet me in my cabin in about an hour.”
“Aye
Sir.”
Nelson
left the wardroom while Chip and Lee remained to finish their breakfast.
“You
know Lee the Admiral didn’t say you could keep the cat.”
“As
good as Chip, you heard him. He feels
very grateful to Argent and wants him to have a good home. What better home than here with us?”
“You
know that he can’t be the cat from
“He’s
the same cat, I know he is. Argent in
heraldry was tincture of silver. It was
one of the colours used to emblazon coat of arms, and he is a silver tabby. ”
“Is this
another one of your knight things?” Chip
groaned. He’d decided not to argue the
cat’s origins with Lee, no way the Admiral would let Lee keep the cat no matter
where it was from.
“Not
exclusively, there are lots of interesting things to learn about medieval times,”
“Fine,
but I still say the Admiral hasn’t said you can keep the cat.”
They each
grabbed another mug of coffee and headed to their respective destinations. Chip to the Control Room, Lee to the Admirals
cabin, via the stores clerk.
.....
“Good
morning Captain,” Patterson greeted, having pulled stores duty this shift.
“Patterson,
I’d like a special order brought on board before we leave.
“Yes
Sir, what would that be?”
“Enough
cat food to last for the entire cruise.”
“Cat
food, Sir?” Patterson was sure he’d
misheard the Skipper.
“Yes
Patterson, cat food, tinned and dry...and Patterson,”
“Sir?”
“Let’s
just keep this between ourselves for now.”
“It’ll
have to be listed on the manifest Sir.”
“I
know, but no need to draw anyone’s attention to it,” Crane told him.
“Yes
Sir, I mean No Sir.” Actually, Patterson
wasn’t exactly sure what he meant, but if the Skipper wanted cat food, far be
it from him to argue the point, very far be it.
He’d enter it under miscellaneous items, and hope no one asked him about
it.
Lee
made a quick stop at his cabin. He had
squirreled away his leftovers from breakfast and now presented Argent with
scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns.
He wasn’t sure what the cat would think of it as a meal but needed have
worried, Argent was quite happy with his repast. As Lee would soon find out, he need not have
bothered ordering the cat food.
.....
Lee and the Admiral spent the next couple of hours going over details for the
cruise to
After
the meeting, Lee headed to the Control Room.
“Status
report, Mr. Morton.”
“All
crew accounted for, systems green across the board. We can shove off any time you like Skipper.”
“Very
well Mr. Morton, proceed.”
“Aye
aye Sir,” picking up the mic Chip issued the required commands, “Now hear this,
make all preparations for getting underway.
Station the manoeuvring watch.”
“Manoeuvring
watch set Sir.” All the other stations also
reported in to Mr. Morton as ready.
“Captain,
all stations ready to get underway.”
“Take
us out Mr. Morton.”
“Manoeuvring,
port engines ahead 1/3. Navigation,
heading 271 degrees.”
When
clear of the breakwater Lee ordered a dive to 100 feet, then when in deep water
gave the warning of the ‘angles and dangles’** manoeuvre, a personal
favourite of his. Chip rolled his eyes
and hung on, Lee occasionally got carried away and added some twists to it,
thankfully not this time.
After
the completion of the manoeuvre, the two of them hunkered down over the chart
table.
“So
we’re counting fish off
“Personally,
I found the seal count cruise very exciting,” countered Lee.
“You
would, you got to go play with a mermaid, I’m still ticked you never introduced
me.”
“Next
time Chip, I promise.”
“Uh
huh, how many mermaids do you figure you’re going to meet?”
“You
never know Chip, you just never know,” Lee grinned. Changing the subject to the cruise at hand Lee
continued, “We’ll be doing a lot of deep dives so using Trimix, we’ll also be
using the FS1. We should reach the area
in... 12 days. Chip I want you to make up the diving rosters,
I’ll be piloting the FS1 since I can’t convince Doc to let me go on any of the
deep dives.”
“You
didn’t really try to get cleared for deep dives did you, that’s below 200 feet?!” Chip was incredulous that Lee would even
consider it; he could tell that Lee still had periodic discomfort from his injury.
“I’m
well aware of what the deep dive depth is Mr. Morton. I am a Navy Master Diver ***. As I said, Doc would not clear me. Take that any way you like.”
Chip
backed off, he could tell that Lee was starting to get his back up and he
didn’t want to start a fight so changed the subject.
“Has
the Admiral met Argent yet?”
“No,
but I’m sure their paths will cross eventually.”
.....
As it
happened, at that very moment, Admiral Nelson was passing by the Captain’s
cabin. He heard a noise from inside and
paused, Strange, Lee shouldn’t be in his
cabin, wonder if he isn’t feeling well.
Nelson knocked and opened the door to check, the light on Lee’s desk was
on, and sitting next to it was a cat, looking for all the world, like it was
reading a report that was lying open on the desk. There was a book on the deck; the Admiral
assumed that the noise he had heard must have been the cat knocking the book
off the desk.
Come in Admiral
The
back of Nelson’s neck prickled and he had a panicked filled moment as his
thoughts flashed back to Kruger, deceased relatives and other disembodied
voices that had boded ill. Oh Good Lord, please not again, he
begged silently.
“Who’s
here?” he asked the apparently empty room.
I am, the cat rose, walked to the desk edge
nearest Nelson, and sat. The cat’s vaguely
familiar green and gold eyes locked on the Admiral’s eyes. Your
Captain has named me Argent, you may call me that. I said ‘come in’, and please close the door,
we need to talk.
.....
Things
were running smoothly in the Control Room, Chip was checking some of the
instrument readings. Lee was forward
having a cup of coffee and admiring the view through the windows. The light flickered and danced through the
water, he could watch it for hours, if time ever allowed. He heard the familiar step of the Admiral
coming down the spiral ladder.
“Admiral,
care for a cup of coffee?” he asked while turning to face Nelson. “Sir, are you feeling ok?” the Admiral looked
rather pale.
“Yes
to the coffee and I feel fine.”
Lee
wasn’t sure he believed the last part.
“You
seem to have a cat in your cabin Captain.”
Chip
had come forward and had heard the Admiral’s last statement. Oh this
should be good, let’s see you wiggle
out of this Lee. He carefully
schooled his face to maintain his infamous XO mask.
Ok, here goes nothing, Lee put on his most innocent
expression, “Yes Sir, we talked about that at breakfast.”
“Yes,
I do recall this morning’s conversation, although apparently I didn’t
understand exactly what it was about.”
“I
told him you wouldn’t want a cat onboard, Sir,” Chip chimed in and received an
extremely dirty look from Lee; I’ll get
you for that Chip.
“The
cat stays Mr. Morton, and you stay away from it,” Nelson firmly told Chip.
“Sir?” Chip had no idea why he was suddenly the one
in trouble.
“You
heard me Mr. Morton...Lee I’d like a word with you, in my cabin.”
“Yes
Sir,” Lee threw Chip a smug look as he followed the Admiral up the ladder, “You
have the
.....
“Excuse
me Admiral, you’re telling me that my cat talked to you?”
“In a
manner of speaking, it was more like telepathy.”
“I
see Sir, he’s umm, never talked to me.
You’ve been working very hard Admiral, perhaps a little rest....”
“Don’t
humour me Captain Crane, we’ve been through enough, and seen enough, to know that
the strange and unusual happens, and it happens rather a lot to us,” snapped
the Admiral.
“Yes
Sir, so what did Argent say?” and in duplication of Nelson earlier, Crane
thought, Oh Good Lord, please not again.
“He
told me that he was assigned to you as your Guardian, and that neither I nor
anyone else was to interfere with him.”
“Guardian,
why would I need a Guardian?”
“Lee,
off-hand I can think of a dozen reasons.
I’ve often wanted to have you watched 24/7, but this isn’t what I had in
mind.” Lee bristled at that
statement. Nelson continued, “Argent
reminded me of something a woman once said to me, that I was to watch for the
time when a feline joined you, that there would be a test coming.”
“A
test, what kind of test? Of me, of you? What woman?”
Lee was now pacing in front of the Admiral’s desk.
“Argent
didn’t elaborate on what was involved in the test. Given that Argent is your Guardian, I’d say
you’re the one who’s going to be tested.”
The Admiral didn’t bother explaining about the woman.
“I
don’t think I like this much Admiral.”
“Didn’t
think you would lad, doesn’t warm the cockles of my heart either. According to Argent, we are to carry on as
planned. Who knows, maybe he’ll tell you
more than he’s told me.”
“Should
we fill Chip in?”
“No,
I’m not so sure that Chip wouldn’t have Jamie sedate us and wrap us both in
straightjackets if we told him the cat talks to us.”
“Well,
to be accurate Admiral, that’s only happened with you.”
“Captain.”
“Yes,
Sir.”
“Don’t
push it.”
“No
Sir.”
Lee
left the Admiral’s cabin and headed to his own, almost hoping that it was just
that the Admiral needed some R&R. He
hesitated when he got to his door but then opened it and went in.
Argent
was stalking back and forth. It’s about time you got here, Lee heard
clearly in his head.
Lee’s
mouth dropped open slightly, “OK, so either both the Admiral and I need to be
committed, or the cat is talking to us,” he mumbled.
Shut the door Lee, were you raised in a
barn?
That
was just too much for Lee, “No I was not and I’m not accustomed to being spoken
to by a cat.”
Good for you, replied Argent, I was dreading the oh so mundane ‘you can talk’ observation.
Lee
didn’t know why but he felt oddly pleased that the cat seemed to approve of
him, sort of.
By the way, advised Argent, you don’t need to literally speak to me, I can pick up your thoughts,
makes things much easier especially when other people are around. Wouldn’t want you looking crazy.
Lee
started to speak, then stopped and ‘thought’ his words, you told the Admiral that you were my Guardian, where are you from and why
are you guarding me?
Argent
was indeed impressed, this man adapted quickly, accepted the out of the
ordinary relatively easily, although Argent could sense an underlying current
of unease.
Where am I from? Here, there and nowhere, a place out of time
but encompassing all time. In other words,
you wouldn’t understand. Why am I
guarding you? Because you need it,
according to the Admiral pretty much all the time.
Lee’s
thoughts started to object.
No he didn’t say so, just something I
picked up in a general reading of him. To
continue, some time ago one of our contacts advised the Admiral that you were
to be tested. You are an unusual man Lee
Crane, born of humans but not entirely human...
I don’t understand, Lee’s thought broke in.
Didn’t think you would, if you’ll let me
finish,
grumbled Argent, you probably will still
not understand but you might have a bit of a clue.
Go ahead Argent I’m listening.
Should hope so.
Lee
grinned, he couldn’t help starting to like the cat.
In every tale or legend, Lee, there is a kernel
of truth.
Lee
recalled that the Admiral had said very much the same thing to him just before
the Rock Men incident. Nelson had been
reading some of the lore about the area they had been cruising through.
Argent
picked up Lee’s thoughts, Good for the
Admiral, now if you’ll stop interrupting.
Humans have many stories of fairies, djinn and other magical
beings. They aren’t magic; they are
real. Entities have visited this planet
all through its history, and as you know from experience, continue to do
so. Some of these entities fell in love
with a human and assumed human form.
Children were born from many of these unions, and these children
inherited a part of the entities essence.
Once introduced into a human line it continues from generation to
generation.
Are you telling me that this happened in
my ancestral past?
Lee asked, silently.
Yes it did. A great many human lines carry the
essence. It has lead to, among other
things, clairvoyants and magicians, not everything they do are mere illusions;
the essence manifests in many varied ways, or sometimes not at all.
Lee’s
mind was in hyper drive, I’m not human!
Argent
sighed, Of course you are. You are just as human as the vast majority of
the people on this planet.
Hold on, what do you mean ‘the vast
majority’? There are non-human people
here.
Argent
kept his next thought to himself, oopsie
didn’t mean to open that can of worms.
Sending
his thoughts to Lee again. Never mind that, keep on topic. In your case you are very sensitive to
alternate realities, spectral beings, etc; in other words, the strange and
unusual. You must have noticed and
wondered about it.
It has crossed my mind a time or two. It only seems to have happened since I joined
Seaview. My life was relatively normal
until then.
Argent
again shielded his thoughts from Lee, Nothing
normal about your ‘relatives’ Lee.
Wonder what you would think if you knew you were a descendent of a very
old, powerful and noble House. They have
watched your line very closely. Most
unusual that pairing was, for her to have come down here, fallen in love, bearing
the man a child and then leaving. Yes,
your male ancestor must have been quite remarkable.
Resuming
his conversation with Lee, Argent continued, Time, and circumstance Lee, the potential was always there. You’ve always been driven to be the best at
whatever you do, to do the right thing regardless of personal cost. It should have come as no surprise to you
that you were attracted to the stories and life of knights, champions of the
people. To quote part of the code:
·
To protect the weak and
defenceless
·
To fight for the welfare of
all
·
To guard the honour of fellow
knights
·
To keep faith
·
To persevere to the end in any
enterprise begun
·
Never to refuse a challenge
from an equal
Lee
recognized the points as part of the Knights Code of Chivalry in the Song of
Roland.
He was
starting to feel uncomfortable, he never thought of himself as anything
special, he just did what needed to be done, up to an including giving his life
if need be.
Exactly, Argent replied, That is the nature of a Knight, a Champion. Serve and Protect no matter the personal
cost. In certain cases, it is necessary
to conduct a test of the person where the essence has manifested.
I take it I’m one of those ‘cases’. What kind of test?
Of Mind, Body and Spirit, we must know if
you are able to withstand a lifetime of dealing with the responsibilities you
take upon yourself and of dealing with the paranormal; will you stand firm in
the Light or turn to Darkness.
How will I be tested? When?
The test could begin at any time and take
any form.
What
Argent didn’t tell Lee was that if Lee failed, Argent was there to terminate him,
and if he passed, he was there to ensure that Lee and anyone else who became
involved remembered nothing at all about it.
Lee
ran his hand through his hair, rubbed at his temple; it was a lot to take in,
if he believed it. Feel kind of like I’m in a Star Wars spin-off or something, Jedi Knight
Crane, O lordy wouldn’t Chip have a field day with that one.
Not that dissimilar I suppose, if it
helps you to cope, go with it, Argent thought back to him. There’s
a reason you people come up with these ideas for movies, books and TV shows.
Oh
by the way, nix on the cat food, whatever you’re having will be fine with me.
Lee
heard Chip page him on the intercom, “Captain Crane to the Control Room.” Lee punched a button, “Be right there
Chip.” After the conversation he’d just
had with a telepathic cat, the normal page felt out of place, he felt out of
place. His world was definitely tilting right
now. He looked over at Argent, not
really sure what to say, maybe after he talked to the Admiral, perhaps between
the two of them they could make some sort of sense out of it all.
Argent
sat there watching Lee, it had gone better than he’d expected; most humans had
passed out long before he finished explaining things. As Lee left for the Control Room Argent
followed him out; might as well take a look around the boat, he’d likely be
here for awhile.
.....
Chip
had several status reports he needed Lee to review and sign off. While Lee dearly wanted to go talk to the Admiral,
he had to put in some time in the Control Room during his watch.
Chip
noticed that Lee seemed very distracted, “Something up Lee?”
“No
Chip, just, ummm, thinking about those fish.”
Yeah, sure you are, in a pig’s eye, thought Chip.
Just then,
Argent jumped up on the chart table.
“Uh
Lee, we seem to have a visitor.”
Argent
sat in the middle of the table and looked Chip over, cocking his head first one
way and then the other.
Chip
started to move towards the cat to lift him off the table.
“Remember
what the Admiral said Chip, ‘hands off the cat’.”
“Actually
you said that Lee, the Admiral just said I was to stay away from the cat.”
“Picking
him up is not staying away.”
“He
can’t sit on the chart table.”
“He seems
to be doing just that to me.”
Argent
glanced over at Lee, Blondie here a
little slow or something?
Lee
cracked up.
Chip,
of course, didn’t hear Argent’s comment and couldn’t understand what Lee found
so amusing.
Argent
jumped down and strolled up and down the Control Room, occasionally a crewmember
gave him a stroke or a scratch behind the ears.
If the Captain didn’t have an issue with a cat onboard, then neither did
any of them. Playing his cat role he
responded with the typical back arch and purr, actually it all felt pretty
good. He then, as cats do, strolled nonchalantly
out.
“Have
you considered the, ah ‘requirements’ for keeping a cat on board Lee?” Chip just couldn’t see how this was going to
work.
“Not
a problem, he uses the head and is happy with eating whatever we are having.”
“Uses
the head! Oh come on Lee, you can’t
expect me to believe that, and don’t cats have different dietary requirements
than we do?”
Lee
was about to answer when Chief Sharkey joined the conversation, “Excuse me Mr.
Morton, Sir, but I’ve heard of that. My
Aunt had a cat that used the facilities rather than a litter box. I’ve heard tell of others too.”
Chip
nodded, “OK, fine, that part works out, I guess.”
“Yep,
just have to let the crew know that if he is scratching at a head door, to let
him in,” Lee advised.
“And
just how do you propose to go about letting everyone know that?”
Lee
smiled and picked up the mic, “Now here this, this is the Captain.”
Chip swallowed
and started to choke.
Lee
continued, with a grin at his respiratory distressed XO, “We have a new crewman
aboard, his name is Argent. He is a
silver tabby cat, mine. Being the
‘Captain’s cat’ I expect you to extend to him every courtesy.”
Chip
choked even more, Sharkey was getting concerned about Mr. Morton, he was
turning an interesting shade of red.
“If
Argent requests entry to a head please open the door and raise the lid, he’ll
take it from there, that is all,” Lee put the mic back in the bracket and
surveyed his XO.
“Message
given Mr. Morton. Would you like me to
summon a corpsman for you, your face is rather red?”
“No
Sir, I’ll be fine,” wheezed Chip.
“In
that case I’ll be with the Admiral if you should need me; you have the Conn Mr.
Morton.”
“Aye
aye Sir,” Chip managed in a more regular voice.
Lee
ascended the forward ladder, headed for the Admirals cabin.
“Mr.
Morton, Sir, would you like a glass of water or something,” Sharkey was still
concerned.
“No
Chief, thank you, resume your post.”
“Aye,
Sir”
Chip
had the definite feeling that he wasn’t getting the entire picture regarding
Lee, the Admiral and the cat. It
wouldn’t be the first time he had to piece things together for himself. He would be watching Lee very closely, when
these things went galley-west Lee was typically in the middle of it, bleeding
from some part of his anatomy.
Argent
listened with amusement to Lee’s announcement.
He surmised that there was more to Lee’s public broadcast than just
letting the crew know about his presence.
In the quick reading of Chip that he’d done in the Control Room he’d
found that the two had an interesting relationship, while as devoted as
brothers to each other there wasn’t much either of them wouldn’t do to harass
the other. Hmmmm, guess siblings are the same no matter what universe you’re from.
.....
Admiral
Nelson sat at his desk and pondered what Lee had just told him. His Captain was sitting across from him, an
expectant look on his face.
“So,
if I understand things correctly Lee, in the distant past, one of your
ancestors....” he wasn’t quite sure how to put this, Lee bailed him out.
“Yes,
Sir, at least according to Argent.”
Well that would be one explanation as to
why the ‘strange and unusual’ always seem to target Lee. A further thought occurred to Nelson, I’m not exactly immune myself, does that
mean that in my ancestry............, he gave himself a mental shake, no if I’d been told that I’d sure as heck
remember it.
“Admiral,
are you ok?” Nelson’s silence was
worrying Lee.
“Oh
ah, yes...yes Lee, I’m fine, sorry just thinking. I suppose all we can do for the moment is
keep an eye on Argent and see what happens.”
“Yes
Sir, makes me feel like a walking target though.”
“Then
I’d say that the situation around here is pretty much normal,” Nelson
quipped. He was trying to relax his
Captain a bit; Lee was looking stressed.
If Chip hadn’t noticed already he would any minute; Lee didn’t need the
complication of trying to appease his XO.
I can see it now, Chip badgering him,
‘come on Lee I know something is wrong, give’
Lee caving, ‘fine, it just so happens that one of my ancestors got in on
with an alien entity. They had a kid,
now an alien has shown up here a few hundred years later, in the form of a
cat, to test me to see how things turned
out’.
Nelson
decided that he most definitely was going to have to come up with a list of
things that required Mr. Morton’s personal attention.
.....
Argent
always hated this part, waiting around for the test to begin. He would occupy himself until then poking
around the boat, there were bound to be some things of interest to see. He had high hopes for Lee, but he’d seen very
promising Champions fail, it always grieved him to have to deal with that. He had never participated in a testing in
quite this situation before, where a previously tested Champion was a close
friend of the one to be tested. While Crane
had the inborn potential and had proven himself to be a truly exceptional man, Lee
had been correct, the essence hadn’t fully manifested until he began working
with Admiral Nelson. The relationship
between these two men was very personal and very deep, more so than they
admitted even to themselves. Together
they brought out the fullest potential of the essence in each other.
.....
Seaview
arrived in the Australian waters and the crew started the final preparations
for the Admiral’s project.
“Lee how
much do you know about this fish?” Chip asked.
He wasn’t really into marine biology,
nor was Lee but Lee was often a ‘captive audience’ for the Admiral.
“Let’s
see,” Lee got his thoughtful ‘what the
heck did the Admiral tell me’ look on his face.
“They
are related to sharks and rays, have a skeleton made up of cartilage and their
skin is smooth, no scales. They were
given the name Chimaera because they look like they are made up of various
other creatures. They have a
disproportionately large head and large, well-developed eyes. They have an odd, rabbit-like mouth filled
with plate-like grinding teeth. The tail
is long and rat like, for propulsion they rely on flapping their large,
wing-like pectoral fins. Most of them have
a prominent, strong spine at the beginning of the first dorsal fin, which is venomous
but not usually lethal.” Lee paused, “There
endith Chimaera 101, courtesy of the Admiral.
Actually there was a lot more but I sort of lost focus.”
Chip had
raised his eyebrows at the bit concerning the spine, “The Admiral is going to
let you play with something that has a venomous spine, doesn’t sound like a
good idea to me.”
“Contrary
to your belief Mr. Morton, I do not always get injured on a cruise.”
“Right
Sir, can you name me five cruises where you haven’t been in mortal danger, injured,
captured, or possessed?”
Lee
decided to ignore that question the truth being that he couldn’t do it.
“We
won’t be bringing any of the fish onboard, so not a problem. I’ve seen the short-nosed variety, found them
when diving with some pals off
“So
why are we preparing for deep dives?” Chip wanted to know, “20 to 60 feet is nothing,”
“That’s
the shortnosed Chimaera, the Admiral wants to study the longnosed ones.” Chip rolled his eyes. Lee continued, “They are found at depths of
around 600 feet on down, this time of year they come up a little shallower so
hopefully the divers won’t have to go down that far. Ski and I will be taking FS1 down beyond the
600 foot mark to film ones on the bottom and to take water and seafloor
samples.”
Chip
guessed that Lee couldn’t get in to much trouble inside FS1, although he had
been proved wrong about that before. Well at least Ski will be there to keep an
eye on him.
.....
Argent
was getting impatient, there were only so many things to look at on the
submarine, and he’d seen them all at least twice. The crewmembers seemed to like having him
around, lots of treats and scratches. He
enjoyed ‘talking’ with the Admiral and they had even played a game or two of
chess...
The
Admiral appeared to be concentrating on the chessboard but something else was on
his mind. Argent looked thoughtfully at
Nelson.
Admiral, I may not be reading your mind
right now, just to keep the game fair, but even so, I can tell you aren’t
thinking about the game.
Nelson
snorted, it was still a bit disconcerting to him to have Argent’s thoughts
arriving in his head. He learned back in
his chair, taking his eyes off the board and looking into Argent’s eyes.
I was thinking about ‘eyes’ Argent. Something has been niggling at the back of my
mind.
Of
course Argent knew what it was, he’d picked up on it before Nelson had worked
it out and had wondered when the man would get around to asking. He remained quiet, letting Nelson think it
out in his own good time.
The eyes of the woman who told me about
you were very similar to Lee’s, that unusual mix of colours, green, brown with
flecks of gold. Lee’s eyes can and do change
colour and intensity. While he isn’t
forthcoming with how he feels about things, I can often tell by looking at his
eyes. Your eyes are similar in colour
too.
Nelson
stopped there, the question implied but not asked.
Very observant of you Admiral. I take it your question is, ‘can you tell
those who have an ancestor that wasn’t from earth by examining eye
colour?’ The answer is ‘No, you can’t’. There are progeny with blue eyes, brown eyes,
grey eyes, etc. In some instances,
though, you can use eye colour to identify the ancestral line once you know the
relationship is there. In Lee’s case,
his ‘other’ world ancestors always pass on what you call ‘hazel’ eyes that
alter colour and intensity according to their emotions. Another one of the lines always produces
strikingly intense blue eyes in males and green in females.
Argent
wondered how long before Nelson put that together or if the memory wipe done years
ago would prevent the man from making the link.
Nelson
didn’t get a chance to think about it as just then there was a knock on his
door.
“Come”
Chip entered
the Admiral’s cabin and saw Argent and the Admiral both intently staring at the
chessboard set up on the desk. Nelson
moved his bishop; Argent stretched out his paw and moved his Queen.
“The
cat plays chess!!!! No way!” Chip
blurted. “How did you teach him to move
the Queen?” belatedly adding the “Sir.”
“I
didn’t.”
Perplexed
and still looking at the cat Chip told the Admiral that Lee had sent him to
pick up the additional instructions the Admiral had for the dives tomorrow.
The
Admiral handed several sheets of paper to Chip.
On his way, out as he closed the door, he was thinking, I have to find Lee; he’s never going to
believe this.
.....
Chip
found his Captain checking out the FS1, making sure everything was ready for the
next day. Lee had the utmost confidence
in his crew, but he still liked to be ‘hands on’, especially with the FS1. He loved piloting her and spent as much time
as he could tweaking systems and generally providing TLC. Lee heard someone clatter down the ladder.
“Lee
you’re never going to believe what I just saw!”
“Well
if I’m not going to believe it Chip, don’t bother telling me,” Lee teased his
friend. “Here hold this,” and he handed
Chip a small electrical panel. “I
decided to replace it, just to be on the safe side. It still has some time before it is scheduled
to be changed, but down that deep I don’t want to have to be messing around with
it if it blows out.”
“Uh
huh, so are you going to listen to me or not?”
“Fire
away, I always listen to you,” Lee replied, and muttered mostly to himself, “usually
whether I want to or not.”
“I
heard that Captain.”
“I
commend your hearing Mr. Morton.”
The
two friends laughed, they enjoyed bantering back and forth.
“When
I went down to the Admiral’s cabin, he and your cat were playing chess. Well obviously they weren’t really playing, but
the Admiral’s trained Argent to move pieces around.”
“Nope.”
“What
do you mean, ‘nope’? I saw it myself.”
“Oh I
don’t doubt that you saw them playing chess.”
“Just
a minute, I get it; you and the Admiral set me up, didn’t you?” Chip accused Lee.
Lee
just laughed, and quickly finished installing the new panel. “Come on Chip, I’ll buy you a coffee.” They exited up the ladder into the nose; Lee
poured Chip a mug of coffee from the urn kept there. Chip gave the old panel he’d been holding to
a crewman to be dropped in the recycling container.
This isn’t over Lee, I will get you back
for setting me up.
It wasn’t uncommon for Lee to somehow
get the Admiral involved in his schemes but Chip wouldn’t dare include the
Admiral in any retaliation. Lee,
however, was fair game.
Lee scanned
the Control Room; everything looked and sounded fine. “Ok Chip, let’s see what the Admiral has
noted down for tomorrow.” The two spent
the next couple of hours reviewing the dive roster and revising the plans to
include the extra items Nelson had added.
Lee would be going out in the FS1 in the morning so he didn’t have
another duty shift after this one. When
he and Chip were satisfied with the revisions he headed to the wardroom for a
quick meal, then did his customary ‘walk-a-bout’ and headed for his cabin.
It
was around 0200 when he finally put the lights out. He was one of those people that seem to be
able to function on a minimal amount of sleep.
The Admiral, Chip and Jamie frequently encouraged him to get more rest
but he’d taken to quoting them a lyric from one of his favourite Bon Jovi
songs:
Until
I’m six feet under
I
don’t need a bed
Gonna
live while I’m alive
I’ll
sleep when I’m dead
Till
they roll me over
And
lay my bones to rest
Gonna
live while I’m alive
I’ll
sleep when I’m dead
It
usually earned him a smack on the head from Chip, a very loud snort from Nelson
and an exasperated ‘Captain’ from Jamie.
.....
Ski
shifted slightly in FS1’s co-pilot seat, he had the controls; Lee was using the
trip to give Ski more experience piloting the craft. They had lots of room so if Ski zigged or
zagged a bit it wasn’t a big deal. They
were leaving the reef area and heading for deeper water.
“Ok
Ski, ease up a bit with your left hand, that’s right, try to ‘feel’ her, you
should be able to tell her position with your eyes closed.”
Easy for you to say, Skipper, Ski thought, but just
nodded, intent on gaining his Captain’s approval.
“Ok
Ski, were going to head for the bottom, just take it nice and slow.”
“Aye
aye Sir.”
This
part would be trickier as they would follow a rock wall down, but Lee had faith
in Ski’s growing abilities, and Lee was a firm believer in learning by doing,
for most things. If there was a problem,
he was right there to help. He sat back
in his seat and tried to appear relaxed and to be doing nothing more than
taking in the view as Ski piloted the FS1 to the ocean floor. Chip
and the Admiral will never let me live it down if we bring her back scratched;
he kept the thought to himself.
Things
went smoothly and they reached the bottom unscathed, obtained the required
samples using the special collection arm and even shot some footage of a couple
of Chimaera. Not wanting to overtire
Ski, Lee took the controls for the return trip.
“Hey
Ski, you ever wonder about doing a spiral in FS1?”
“Can’t
say that I ever have, Skipper.” Kowalski
was afraid he was about to find out about it though.
Lee
grinned rather wickedly. Instead of
doing the customary approach pattern for a docking, Lee ‘sailed’ past Seaview’s
observation nose.
“Ah,
Mr. Morton Sir?”
“Yes
Patterson, what is it? Something wrong
with sonar?”
“No
Sir, the FS1 isn’t coming in for docking, she went right past us and seems to
be picking up speed.”
Chip
picked up the mic, “Seaview to FS1, Seaview calling FS1, come in FS1.”
“FS1
to Seaview,” Lee answered the hail.
“Lee
do you have a problem out there?”
“Just
giving her some exercise.”
Before
Chip could ask Lee what he meant Patterson spoke again, “Sir, she’s coming
about, looks like the Captain is going to make another pass across the nose.”
Chip
looked out the large observation windows just as FS1 came into view, doing a
tight ‘corkscrew’, all the way across until she was out of sight.
“I hope
Lee and Kowalski have their harnesses done up real tight,” he said to no one in
particular.
“I
hope the Captain has a very good reason for doing that,” Nelson said from
behind Chip. Having been absorbed in the
display outside Chip hadn’t heard the Admiral enter the Control Room. Nelson held out his hand for the mic.
“Nelson
to FS1, come in Captain Crane.”
“Ooops,”
Lee said, as he grinned over at Ski.
“Crane
here Admiral.”
“If
you’ve finished playing around out there Captain, I’d like a word with you in
my cabin just as soon as you’re back aboard.
Which I expect will be shortly.”
“Yes
Sir, Crane out.”
“She’s
approaching for docking, Sir,” Patterson announced.
“Right
side up I hope,” Nelson mumbled as he left for his cabin.
Chip
didn’t tell the Admiral that this wasn’t the first time Lee had pulled that manoeuvre,
he’d done it at least once before, when Chip was with him. It had done interesting things to his
stomach; he wondered how Kowalski was doing.
.....
“You
ok Ski, you look a little green?” Lee asked.
“I’m
fine Sir,” Ski lied, hoping that he’d make it to the head in time.
Lee
knew ‘the look’; he’d seen it on Chip’s face not so very long ago. He reached around to a small storage bin
opened it and pulled out a barf bag.
Sometimes they took visiting dignitaries ‘out and about’ on FS1, and not
all of them were happy fliers. He handed
the bag to Kowalski, “you didn’t hear it from me Ski, but Mr. Morton didn’t do
so well the first time either, you get used to it.”
“If
you say so Sir,” and Kowalski promptly revisited his lunch while Lee docked the
FS1.
.....
Lee
wasn’t sure how much of the line, “just giving Kowalski some experience in
unusual movements” the Admiral bought, but Nelson had let the subject drop
after a rather large ‘HRUMP’.
“Do you
think you got some good samples?” Nelson
asked Lee.
“Yes
Sir, we also have some interesting footage of the fish exhibiting territorial
behaviour.”
Lee
figured that, more than anything else distracted the Admiral from his FS1
manoeuvres.
.....
Argent
really wanted to get things over with; he wasn’t thrilled with the new
twist. Given the growing bond between
the Admiral and the Captain it had been decided that the test needed to be
adjusted. It would now include them both,
even though Nelson had passed his own test years ago.
.....
“Well
Jamie?” Lee asked the CMO.
“You’re
doing very well Skipper, healing nicely, and before you ask, NO. You are still not cleared for the deep
dives. It’s only with reservation that I
might consider letting you dive the shallow ones.”
Lee
was about to argue the point but he looked at Jamie’s raised eyebrows and stern
expression and decided there would be nothing to gain by riling the man.
“So
you’ll advise the Admiral that I’m ok’d for shallow diving,” Lee said, sort of
half question half statement.
Jamie
sighed, “I said I might consider clearing you for shallow dives. If I do, I want your solemn word that you
won’t dive below 100 feet; you will stop any dive where you start to experience
pain or feel unwell in any way, and that you will report to me
immediately upon coming back aboard after each and every dive.”
“Geesh
Doc that’s a lot of rules!”
“You
don’t want to follow them, that’s fine, I won’t clear you for diving at any
depth.”
“Ok
ok, I didn’t say I wouldn’t agree to them, just that there are a lot of them.”
“Your
word Skipper.”
“I,
Lee Brayden Alexander Crane, do solemnly swear to abide by all that stuff you
said.” Lee grinned at Jamie.
“Not
good enough Captain, give me what I need to hear.”
Lee
sighed, “I will not dive below 100 feet, and I will stop any dive and surface
if in pain or feeling unwell. I will
report to you in
“When
will you report to me?”
“Immediately
upon coming back aboard.”
“Very
good Captain. The Admiral will have my
report shortly, with my stipulations and your agreement to them. Now get out of here, I’ve got things to do.” Jamie had learned that he needed to be very
specific with Lee; the man could squirm his way out of almost any agreement
when it came to his health.
Lee
gave Doc one of his better smiles, and hurried out of
Seaview
was on the surface, two dive zodiacs were already in the water and almost ready
to go. The Admiral came topside to
watch, as Lee and the other divers, Kowalski among them, finished securing the
specimen containers and dive gear. The
Admiral and asked for and received permission to use a secluded beach on
Lee
wondered if the Admiral had received Docs report yet, or if he was about to try
to pull him from the dive.
“Doc
cleared me for the shallow dives Sir,” he began before the Admiral had a chance
to speak.
“I
know Lee. I wanted to be sure you are
planning to follow Doc’s orders.” The
Admiral had discovered that it was often a good idea, a very good idea in fact,
to back up any medical orders given to Lee with his own. “You will do exactly as Dr. Jamieson has instructed
you, understood Captain?”
“Yes
Sir, didn’t have any plans not to.” Lee
knew that there would be no wiggle room on this, especially when Nelson
addressed him as ‘Captain’.
“Mmmm,
glad to hear it. There’s a lot of shark
activity in these waters, keep a good watch.
See you when you get back.”
“Yes
Sir.” Lee read the subtext easily, ‘Be
good and stay out of trouble’.
Lee
and his dive crews roared away from Seaview in the zodiacs, looking forward to
a great day of diving. It certainly was
that, crystal clear waters, Gorgonian sea fans, Cabbage Corals, Feather stars,
Parrot fish, Trumpet fish, Silvertip sharks, Grey reef sharks and Whitetip reef
sharks, to name a few of the sights.
The
water was warm enough to do without a wet suit however everyone still wore a
dive skin.**** Australia was
notorious for its jellyfish, some lethal.
The ‘skin’ provided protection for the divers from the venom injecting
nematocysts found on jellyfish tentacles.
The dive skin would also provide some protection from coral scrapes.
.....
Lee’s
team had finished their last dive of the day.
The men had stripped out of their dive skins and some had pulled shorts
on over their Speedos. Many
divers preferred wearing nothing under their wetsuit or ‘skin’, normal swim
trunks tended to bunch up, be uncomfortable and make getting in and out of
either ‘skin’ or wetsuit more difficult.
Most of Seaview’s divers wore Speedos as a compromise.
Lee
dug around in his gear bag looking for his shorts. I know
I threw a pair in here.....CHIP MORTON..... you had better hide when I get back
on board! His bag had only been out
of his sight for a couple of minutes while he signed off reports, but
apparently that had been all the time Chip had required to ‘light-finger’ Lee’s
shorts out of his bag.
Lee
pulled out and put on a white cotton T-shirt, at least his XO hadn’t taken that
as well. He didn’t really mind being in
his red Speedos, it was letting Chip score that got to him. It was a game between them to see who could
get whom the most times on a cruise.
They watched each other like hawks, looking for an opportunity, ok, one point Morton, but just you wait,
vengeance shall be mine.
Everyone
spent the next hour cataloguing and loading specimens into their zodiac. Once that was done, they had some time to
relax as the other team was still diving the reef.
Some
of the men were playing cards and others were doing a bit of beachcombing,
wandering along the shoreline.
Lee
looked for Kowalski; he spotted him stretched out on his stomach on the warm
sand, his head resting on his crossed arms, apparently asleep. He was looking fit and well muscled, the
latter better toned than they had been a couple of weeks ago.
Seaview
had athletic equipment onboard, exercise bikes, versa climbers, rowing
machines, and free weights. Lee usually
worked out with Chip but when Chip was on watch or had other duties Lee had started
asking Kowalski to join him. It was
against boat rules to work out alone, even if there were other crewmen there
you had to have a spotter. Lee knew that
he could ask anyone in the workout room to spot for him, but he wouldn’t have
been as comfortable as he was with Ski.
Standing
in the sun and looking out over the sparkling water Lee pulled off his T-shirt
and dropped it to the sand. While his
skin naturally tanned quickly, he liked to wear a bit of protection so applied
some suntan oil. His well developed
upper body and highly defined abdomen glistened in the sun as did his rippling
back muscles. He drew in several deep
breathes, exhaling slowly after each. He
then bent at the waist and keeping his legs straight placed the palms of his
hands flat on the sand, stretching his lower back, hamstrings and calves. He straightened up and lacing his fingers
together palms out, raised his arms high over his head to stretch out his upper
back and sides, bending slightly to the right and then the left. A few squats and lunges took care of
stretching his glutes. To finish off he moved his feet shoulder width apart and
holding his abdominals tight, he clasped his hands behind his back and lifted
them until he could feel a good stretch across his chest.
Satisfied
that he’d taken care of any kinks from diving he settled down against a log to
enjoy the warmth of the sun and sand, relaxing to the hypnotic sound of the
surf creaming up onto the beach. He let
his mind wander...Edith Caitlin Nelson. He
recalled the time when he’d first seen her.
She had been at NIMR visiting Nelson in his office. He was dropping off some reports that the
Admiral wanted. Nelson’s secretary
wasn’t at her desk so he’d knocked twice and entered after getting the expected
“Come.”
Sitting
on the edge of the Admirals desk, skirt hitched up displaying long slender legs
was one of the most strikingly attractive women he had ever seen. Long wavy titian hair cascaded down her back,
spiked bangs adorned the creamy white skin of her forehead, and intense green
eyes sparkled with mischief.
The
woman and the Admiral had been laughing about something and she had turned her
head toward the door as he’d entered. He
had been momentarily stunned when their eyes met, a frisson of heat had travelled
down his body, and pooled between his legs.
He remembered thinking, or more like praying, Oh no, don’t you dare! He’d
moved his hands, thankfully holding file folders, down lower, just in case.
#####
“Lee,
why are you just standing there? Come in,”
the Admiral greeted him.
Somehow
finding his voice he replied, “Ah...sorry Admiral, didn’t mean to
interrupt.” And just what am I interrupting; she looks young enough to be his
daughter. He was rather embarrassed
with himself, detecting a hint of jealousy in his thought.
“Not
at all Lee. Edith I’d like to introduce
to you Seaview’s Captain, Commander Lee Crane.
Lee this is my sister Edith.”
Sister! Holy crap! I’m so dead in the water. “Very pleased to meet you Ms. Nelson,” Lee
responded in his very best manners as he moved forward to extend his right hand,
having juggling the files to his left one.
His earlier ‘worry’ having instantly deflated upon learning who she
was.
Ms.
Nelson slid off the desk, revealing a little more leg in the process.
Just how accidental was that? Lee wondered.
They
shook hands and Lee found her hand to be warm and soft with a pleasantly firm
grip. He hesitated a moment before
releasing it.
“Harry
you appear to have made a very fine choice,” she grinned impishly at Lee, as
she slowly looked him up and down. Lee
flushed from the scrutiny but hoped she liked what she saw.
“Captain
my big brother insists on calling me Edith, but I prefer Caitlin, my middle
name. As I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot
of each other” she appraised him once more, and once more, he flushed in
response, “let’s drop the Ms. Nelson.”
“As
you wish Caitlin, that’s a lovely name, and please call me Lee,” he gave her
one of his endearingly shy smiles.
“You
have a very nice smile, Lee.” She
reached out and taking the files from him and without looking dropped them on
Nelson’s desk, then she took both Lee’s hands in hers. You have beautiful hands, such long fingers,
she released his left hand but continued to hold the right one, palm up in her
left hand. She ran the fingertips of her
right hand lightly over his wrist, down to the tips of his fingers, matching
her fingertips to his. She gave him one
of her own shy smiles.
Lee
swallowed hard. Nelson’s sister, Nelson’s sister he kept repeating to himself.
Lee
didn’t know it but ever since then it had been a source of amusement to Nelson
to watch Lee fight to maintain the correct demeanour around his sister. He’d known Lee was in trouble the minute
Edith had set eyes on him. He knew that
look in his sister’s eyes. She very
definitely approved of Seaview’s Captain.
She certainly never missed an opportunity to invite Lee to join them for
dinner when Seaview was in port and she was in town. Always picking a place that had dancing, nice
slow and oh so closed position dancing.
What she didn’t know, he strongly suspected, was that she’d met her
match, in more ways than one. He also
recognized the look in Lee’s eyes. Edith, my girl, or Caitlin as you prefer, it
may be a game to you right now, but once I give Lee the nod, you won’t know
what hit you. In the meantime, I think
I’ll just sit back and enjoy watching the two of you ‘dance’.
#####
Lee
was slipping into an almost trance like state, warmed by the sun and his
thoughts. I might have to be correct when around Caitlin, but the Admiral can’t
keelhaul me for daydreaming. To wrap my
arms around her, feel her body mould to mine, brush my lips against her full,
soft, sensuous ones, then deepening the kiss, exploring the sweetness of her
mouth, our tongues stroking and teasing back and forth. The feel of her body under my hands, caressing
her, slowly removing her clothes, cupping her breasts in my hands, lowering my
mouth to suckle first one and then the other, her moans of pleasure. Her fingers unbuttoning my shirt, stripping
it off, the feel of her hands slowly exploring my body, back, chest, abdomen, moving
lower and lower; unfastening my pants, pulling down the zipper, sliding her
hand......
Lee groaned deeply as a shudder ran through his body, gotta stop this, what was that quote from King Lear ‘O, that way madness lies’.
He
opened his eyes and took a quick look around; thankfully, no one was near him. No one had heard him groan or could see the
reason for it. He definitely felt that a
good long swim was called for. Cold
water would be better but he’d take what he could get.
He got
up, and retrieving his mask, flippers and snorkel swam out to the reef. He started counting fish, anything to occupy
his mind. He spotted some Butterfly fish,
a carpet of colourful anemones, and their partners the clown fish, with over a
thousand species of fish inhabiting the
.....
Kowalski
stretched on the sand, Oh man I didn’t
mean to fall asleep. Hope the Skipper
didn’t notice. He looked around,
some of the guys had a card game going, he didn’t see Captain Crane anywhere. The other dive team had just returned and
their leader, having spotted Kowalski, was heading over to him.
“Hey
Ski, where’s the Skipper?”
“Don’t
know, can’t be far.” Kowalski called
out, “SKIPPER.”
One
of the men playing cards looked up and called over. “I saw the Skipper grab his mask and stuff
and head out over that way Ski.” He
pointed out to a part of reef area that was fairly close to the beach, but
still a good swim out.
Ski
shaded his eyes with his hand, scanning the ocean’s surface in the direction
indicated. He could just make out
someone in the water. He walked down to
the edge of the surf and hailed his Captain, he didn’t really think there was
much chance of the Skipper hearing him.
Walking back to where the team had placed their diving gear he noticed
that while Captain Crane’s mask, flippers and snorkel were gone, his dive skin
was still there.
.....
Lee
was completely relaxed, letting the motion of the water gradually move him
along over the reef. Suddenly something
grabbed his arm. Instinct taking over he
rolled in the water, breaking the hold on his arm and dragging his assailant
under the water. He wrapped his left arm
around his attacker’s neck and held him under keeping his own body on top. He heard someone yelling at him from a few
feet away; he looked over and saw Scott from the other team treading water. “Skipper that’s Kowalski you’re holding under!” Lee let his neck hold go and hauled Kowalski
up.
Ski
was no fool, he knew that the Skipper could out fight him in or out of the
water, so when Lee had rolled him under and held him there he had simply
relaxed, hoping that the Skipper would let him up in time.
“Kowalski
what the hell did you think you were doing!” Lee shouted at him as Ski gulped air.
“Sir,”
the seaman gasped, “you didn’t hear me calling you. You don’t have your dive skin on. Worried about Irukandji, *****
Sir.”
Shit, Lee thought, I never even considered it.
“Let’s get back to shore Ski, you ok to swim?”
“Yes
Sir, no problem.”
The three
men headed in. Lee didn’t think there
was anything to worry about, he didn’t feel any irritation anywhere on his
skin. Just the same, when they got to
the beach Kowalski insisted on looking him over very thoroughly.
“Don’t
see anything Skipper, you feel alright?”
“I
feel fine Kowalski, just fine.”
“Good,
Sir. Doc will give you a once over too.”
“I’m
sure he will Kowalski.” Lee had
absolutely no intention of mentioning this to Jamie. If Jamie or the Admiral found out how
careless he had been, they’d likely ban him from diving for the rest of the
trip. He was sure he hadn’t been stung. There had been no jellyfish reported from any
of the divers, he had not seen any either.
In
short order everything was loaded into the zodiacs and they headed ‘home’ to
Seaview.
Chip
was topside to greet them, “Everything go alright Skipper?”
Lee
knew the question was really, ‘What happened to you this time?’
“Everything
went very smoothly Mr. Morton, I think we have enough samples to satisfy the
Admiral and keep him occupied for awhile.”
Lee then did a quick turn in place, “see not even one shark bite.”
“Bloody
miracle,” he heard his XO say as Chip left for the Control Room.
Lee
made sure that Kowalski had lots to keep him busy, and assured him that he was
on his way to
.....
“Everything
seems to be ok, anything you’ve neglected to tell me?” Jamie asked Lee.
“It
all went like clock-work Doc, don’t have a scratch on me.”
Jamie
realized that Lee hadn’t really answered the question, but, as everything
looked fine to him, he decided to overlook it.
“OK
Skipper, you’ve had a busy day, I suggest you get something substantial to eat
and then hit your rack.”
“That
an order Doc?”
“I
can make it one.”
“Ok
ok, just kidding.”
Lee
didn’t feel like eating but he was tired and he had a bit of a backache. It was well outside the timeframe for
Irukandji syndrome symptoms to show up so he figured he had just strained a
muscle flipping Ski in the water.
By
the time he’d made it to his cabin his back was more than a little achy. “Damn damn damn,” he groaned, “it can’t be...too
long.” He tried to reach for his cabin
mic but his muscles started to spasm, it felt like his body was ripping itself
apart. He fell to the deck. As his stomach cramped he vomited, again and
again. His chest muscles felt like they
were going to crush his heart as they also began contracting. He couldn’t get himself off the deck, apart
from the continual brutal muscle spasms he couldn’t move at all. It was all he could do to keep breathing, and
he wasn’t sure how long he could keep that up.
.....
The entire boat must have heard that, Chip thought, at the ear-piercing
yowl that Argent had let out. “Who
stepped on the cat?” but the only answer he received was a running Admiral
following the cat up the spiral ladder.
Damn, somebody cheated, the Admiral had heard loud
and clear in his head. There was no
doubt in Nelson’s mind as to what Argent meant.
The test had started, but something was wrong.
.....
Pain
was Lee’s whole world.
He was in a barren dirt yard, tied by the wrists between two poles. The sun beat down in blistering intensity. His wrists were above his head but his arms
were not fully extended. This meant that
he could stand and not have his weight pulling on his shoulders or wrists. That is, for as long as he could remain
standing.
They started with a cattle prod, back, arms, legs, abdomen and chest, again and
again. The pain and spasms so severe Lee
vomited and retched until he thought he’d ruptured his stomach. Sweat poured off his body.
Then came the whip, slashing cruelly across his back and shoulders, burning,
ripping. He didn't know who they were, he couldn't even recall how he
came to be here. The only thing he did
know, they wanted the satellite missile codes.
.....
Hurry Admiral, hurry Argent’s command rang in
Nelson’s head as he dashed after the cat.
Arriving
at Lee’s door Nelson flung it open. Lee
lay on the deck, soaked in sweat, muscle spasms wracking his body. The Admiral grabbed for the mic with one hand
and Lee with the other, “Easy lad, Doc will be right here.....Sickbay this is
the Admiral, medical emergency in the Captain’s cabin, repeat medical emergency
in the Captain’s cabin. Break the damn
sound barrier!”
“Argent,
what is happening to him?” Nelson asked
the cat as he tried to pull Lee away from the vomit on the deck. He wanted to hold and cradle Lee against him
but Lee’s cramping muscles made it impossible to keep him still.
They delayed the reaction to...
Argent
didn’t get any more out as Jamie and his corpsmen came charging through the
door.
“What’s
happened to him?” Jamie asked.
“I
don’t know, we found him like this.”
Jamie
noticed the ‘we’, but didn’t see anyone else with the Admiral. He tried to get a set of vital signs without
much luck.
“Ok,
we have to get him down to sickbay right now I can’t do anything here. Thomas, Rob with all his convulsing we’re
going to have to be really careful moving him on the stretcher.” Just then Kowalski arrived; any emergency in
the Captain’s cabin was bound to bring him.
Doc was glad to see Ski, the extra set of hands would be very welcome.
“What
is it?” Ski asked, as he helped get his
Captain onto the stretcher and secured as well as they were able to.
“We
don’t know,” Doc told him.
“It’s
been too long to be Irakandji Syndrome,” Ski said.
Jamie
looked at him, “Irakandji, why would you suspect that?”
“The Skipper
went for a swim without his ‘skin’, didn’t he tell you when you checked him
over?”
From
the black look that crossed the doctor’s face Kowalski drew his own conclusion.
A
similar look crossed the Admiral’s face.
Nelson looked at Argent, who just nodded his head.
“It’s
Irakandji Doc,” Nelson said to Jamie.
“Can’t
be, way to long since he got back.”
“Just
trust me, it is.”
They
were ready to transport Lee. Kowalski
took one end of the stretcher, Nelson the other. Jamie and his corpsmen were at the sides of
the stretcher to steady it and Lee as they made the all too familiar trip to
sickbay with him.
.....
"DOC!"
Rob hollered. Jamie looked up in
time to see the Admiral collapsing.
"What happened?" he asked as he assisted his corpsman to lift Nelson onto
a bunk. He rapidly began an assessment.
"No idea, he just suddenly passed out."
Jamie
and his corpsmen had been working on Lee, trying to get an IV started, it
wasn’t easy as Lee was continually jerking and trying to roll into a foetal
position. Jamie had administered an
anticonvulsant and a painkiller, Fentanyl, 100 times more potent that morphine. Finally resorting to restraint straps he’d
managed to get an IV line in.
The
Admiral had seen Lee being treated in far worse circumstances, there was
nothing in the situation that should have caused Nelson to collapse as he had.
.....
Admiral
Nelson was feeling very disoriented and groggy, he couldn't remember what had happened.
"Ah about time Admiral, I thought you were going to miss the rest of the
fun," a man taunted him.
Yes, now he remembered, he and Lee were captives. He was tied to a chair,
Lee where was Lee? These men wanted
something, what was it...his memory blurred again for a moment.
"Have you decided to give us the codes to the satellite system yet
Admiral, or shall we continue entertaining ourselves with your Captain, hmm? One of you will give us the codes."
How could I have forgotten even for a second?
Nelson’s eyes travelled to the big screen
high-def TV in the room. On the screen
in living colour, he could see Lee. His
back was a mass of lacerations, blood dripped down his back, landing in the
dirt. Sweat ran down Lee’s sides, his breathing laboured, gasping. The ropes binding his wrists to the polls had torn
the skin when his body had twisted and convulsed from the cattle prod they had
used on him earlier. Blood oozed from
the wounds creating meandering red trails down his arms as if they were obscene
rivers marked on a bloodthirsty map.
Nelson watched as two men approached Lee from behind with a bucket, full of
what appeared to be water.
“A
man of the sea your Captain, eh. Can’t
have him missing his beloved salt water now can we,” the man beside Nelson
smirked.
The
Admiral watched as the contents of the bucket was slowly poured over Lee's back.
He could see Lee’s body go rigid, his
hands ball into fists above the bloody ropes binding his wrists.
.....
Lee
tensed and bit back a scream as the salt water flowed onto his raw and bleeding
back. It felt like a million stinging
jellyfish clinging to him. His breath
came in short gasps as he tried to control his response to the pain, holding
himself rigid, enduring the unbearable burning.
He could only hold still for just so long before his body twisted and
shuddered in a futile and involuntary attempt to shake the water off, more
blood traced down his arms from his wrists as the ropes bit deeper.
One of his tormentors stepped in front of him, pulled his head back and poured
some fresh water into his mouth. It was not meant as a kindness. They didn't want him dying of dehydration, it
would spoil all their fun, and they still needed the codes.
Nelson's pain was no less for not being the one bound and tortured in the yard.
This was his dearest friend, his chosen son that they were brutalizing. Every
act that caused Lee pain caused him pain. He desperately wanted to give
the tormentors what they asked for, wanted to hold Lee and comfort him, to get
him to Seaview and Jamie's expert care. He could do none of those things;
all he could do was sit there and helplessly watch as Lee was savaged.
He
didn’t know the name of the man in the room with him, he just thought of him as
‘captor’.
Captor sat back and looked at Nelson for a few minutes while his thugs outside
with Crane took a smoke break. Even then, they continued to torment Lee, taking
the ends of their burning cigarettes and pressing them against Lee's skin,
raising blisters.
Captor could see plainly enough that Nelson was concerned for his Captain, more
than concerned. Nelson flinched with
every stroke delivered, every agony inflicted. Even so apparently something
more was needed. Nelson didn't show
signs of breaking and neither did Crane.
An idea occurred to Captor, this should
prove interesting.
He untied Nelson, hauled him out of the chair, dragged him through the house
and out into the dirt yard where Lee was bound. Lee's head was down,
Nelson wasn't certain Lee was conscious as he wasn't reacting at all to the
burning cigarette ends.
He was placed in front of Lee. For once
he was almost at a height with his Captain as Lee wasn’t standing anymore, but hanging
from his wrists, knees bent. They ripped
off Nelson’s shirt and tied him to Lee, arm to arm, thigh to thigh.
Lee,
roused by the activity, tried to focus on something other than pain. He slowly realized that something was bound
to him. He raised his head to see what
it was and could not believe what his eyes told his brain. They had tied Admiral Nelson, stripped of his
shirt, face to face with him.
“Lee,”
Nelson choked out his name.
“Sir.....
what?..... how?, I didn’t....know you.....here too,” Lee spoke in a dry,
cracked voice almost too low to hear.
Lee’s
exhaustion and pain overcame him and his head slumped forward, his forehead
resting against the Admirals neck.
Nelson angled his head so that his cheek pressed gently against Lee’s
head, hoping to provide at least some measure of comfort.
“Awww,
ain’t that sweet,” one of the thugs sneered.
The
Admiral’s head was suddenly jerked back by his hair. Lee raised his head, “leave him alone you
bastard,” he spit out with as much force as he could muster.
The
man holding Nelson’s head looked at Lee, “Either one of you can get this to
stop. All you have to do is give us a few
numbers.” Then he spoke to Nelson, “What
do you say Admiral, want to take your Captain here inside? Nice soft bed for him, plenty of water to
drink. We have a lovely big medical kit
in there, full of painkillers and bandages.
All it takes for you to have all of that for him is just a few numbers,
hmmm?”
Nelson
wanted that more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life. Lee saw the pain and regret in the Admiral’s
eyes, knew that there was more than one kind of torture being inflicted and endured
here.
“I’m
fine right where I am, Sir,” he told Nelson.
In a
voice filled with loathing Nelson told Captor, “Go to Hell and burn.”
Captor
laughed, “Perhaps I shall, but your Captain is going to believe that he’s
already there.”
He
released Nelson and walked away to stand behind Lee.
The
Admiral was not prepared for what came next.
When Captor had brought him out he thought that they were going to start
on him, but not so.
He
watched as the two men who had been torturing Lee moved once more to stand
behind Lee. Captor reached into a sack
that had been lying on the ground and brought out a brand new ‘toy’. While the whip that they had used before was
a six-foot bullwhip, the one he now tossed to one of the thugs was similar to a
cat-o-nine tails, but had bits of metal and stones woven into each strand.
If
Nelson had thought watching before was horrific, this was far worse. At a nod from Captor the whip’s lashes were
sent across Lee’s already shredded flesh. The thug was good with a whip, sometimes it
would be full strokes that tore into Lee, other times the thug would snap the
whip at the last moment so that only the tips of each strand landed, digging
into Lee’s back. Again and again the
whip struck, metal tearing already torn flesh, stones pummelling the raw wounds. Nelson felt each stroke in his very soul. He sought to find some way to help Lee, by
sheer force of will to send strength from his body into Lee’s, but there was
nothing he could do.
Lee
tried to hold his body still and to be silent.
He could feel Nelson pressing his body against his, trying to support
him in some way.
All
too soon, Lee passed beyond his capacity to control his body’s reactions. He now shuddered with every blow, strangled
moans escaped from his lips. Finally,
Lee’s head dropped to Nelson’s shoulder.
Captor
signalled his man to stop.
He
walked over to the bound men, grabbed Lee’s hair and pulled his head back as he
had done Nelson’s earlier. “Hmm, not
much point in whipping an unconscious man, hey Admiral? Anything you might be wanting to say to me?”
The
Admiral could think of a great many things, but held his tongue.
“Fine
I’ll just let the two of you hang here a bit, give you time to think things
over while we wait for your Captain to rejoin us.” With that, he let go of Lee and walked
away. Lee’s head fell once again against
Nelson.
The
Admiral was thankful that Lee was unconscious; anything that would give Lee
some respite from the torture was welcome.
After
what seemed like all too short a time, Lee softly spoke, “Admiral, are you ok?”
Nelson
couldn’t believe his ears, of all the
things to be worried about!
“Yes
Lee I’m fine,” he whispered back.
“Good,
afraid.....maybe they...hurt you when.....was unconscious.”
“No
son, they left, so I could think things over.”
“Nothing
to think about Sir.........can’t tell them............either of us.”
“I
know Lee, I know.”
Nelson
again pressed his head against Lee.
Neither of them realized the men had returned.
“Well
well, look who’s back, so glad. One last
chance, what are the satellite codes?
Either of you tell me and you both go free. Say nothing and one of you dies while the
other watches, up close and personal.”
Silence
“Have
it your way then.”
The
two thugs came over. One of them held
Lee’s right arm tightly while the other brought out a scalpel. He drew the blade down along the side of
Lee’s arm, slicing deeply. Blood welled
from the wound and flowed down Lee’s side.
As much as he did not want to add to Nelson’s burden, Lee hadn’t been
able to hold in a groan and shiver as the blade had made its painful way down
his arm.
“The next slice opens the vein,” Captor said,
and he paused expectantly. Still nothing. He gave a shrug, “enjoy your blood bath
Nelson.”
The
other thug came over and grabbed Nelson’s arm, holding it away from Lee’s so
that his partner could get at the vein.
Nelson tried to fight them, to move Lee so that they couldn’t make the
cut but Captor put his arm around his throat, and held him still in a choke
hold. “Last chance,” Captor whispered in
his ear.
From
his wrist downward for about 3 inches, the scalpel followed Lee’s vein, blood
gushed out and ran down both his and Nelson’s joined arms and continued down
their chests and abdomens.
The
thugs did the same with Lee’s left arm.
Lee’s lifeblood poured away down the Admiral’s arms and over his
body. How can I possibly bear this?, Nelson wailed in his mind.
Lee
looked into the Admiral’s eyes, saw the misery there, and whispered, “Don’t do
it Sir, this will all have been for nothing if you tell them.” Nelson watched as Lee’s eyes began to lose
focus, “doesn’t hurt now.”
Nelson
felt tears flooding from his eyes, running down his face and body to mix with
Lee’s blood. His voice breaking, “Lee, I’ve
never said the words.....but I love you son, very much.... I....hope you
knew.”
“Yes
Sir....I knew.....I love you too....I’m...sorry.” The last spark of life died in his eyes and
he was gone.
The
Admiral’s world shattered, Lee, was dead.
‘I’m sorry’, what they hell did Lee
have to be sorry about? He had endured
everything, given everything, he had not waivered, he was true to the bitterest
of ends. “I’ll be with you soon son,
wait for me” Nelson whispered, he would not waiver either, these animals would
not get from him what Lee had not given.
.....
“Doc,
I think he’s waking up.”
Jamie
leaned over the Admiral and checked his vitals, “Yes, looks like it, been one
hell of a night in here.”
“Jamie...”
the Admiral said unsteadily, he wasn’t sure where he was but he thought he knew
the voice.
“Right
here Admiral, you’re going to be just fine.”
“I’ll
never be fine, nothing will ever be fine, they...killed Lee,” the pain of those
words so very evident on his face and in his voice.
“Whoa
Admiral, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. The Skipper is going to be ok, it was touch
and go there for awhile, but the crisis has passed.”
“Lee’s
alive...he’s here?”
“Lee
is alive and he is here. He’s sleeping at
the moment. I’m guessing that must have
been some dream you had.”
“I
have to see him,” Nelson’s voice quavered.
He attempted to get out of the bunk but Jamie stopped him.
“Just
hold on a minute; let’s be sure you’re ready to be on your feet.”
Jamie
took another set of vitals, and decided it was relatively safe for the Admiral
to get up.
Nelson
approached the treatment gurney where Lee lay, asleep on his back. The Admiral moved a trembling hand down first
one and then the other of Lee’s arms. No
wounds followed the line of the veins; no lifeblood flowed out. He felt for a pulse and found one, slow,
strong and steady. Lee’s chest rose and
fell in deep and easy breathing movements.
Nelson
started to feel a little unsteady on his feet.
Jamie took his arm and helped him back to his bunk.
“I
don’t quite understand why Admiral, but you are exhibiting signs of shock. I need you to lie down and stay that way for
awhile.”
“As
long as I can see Lee, Jamie, I need to be able to see him.”
“Yes
Sir, not a problem, he isn’t going anywhere.
Time we moved him into a bunk anyway.”
After
getting the Admiral settled Jamie and Thomas gently and with great care moved
Lee into the bunk opposite the Admiral.
Lee didn’t wake up but he did shift slightly onto his side. Jamie took another set of vitals and then snugged
the blanket around Lee.
“Jamie?”
“He’s
fine Admiral, now I want you to do what the Captain is doing, and get some
sleep.”
“I just
want to watch him for awhile first.”
Jamie
still didn’t know what to make of the Admiral’s obvious distress. You’d
think Lee had just come back from the dead or something.
Nelson
eventually fell asleep, exhaustion briefly overcoming his need to keep watch
over Lee. When he woke up a couple of
hours later, he felt a moment of panic.
Where was Lee? He looked over to Lee’s
bunk and was relieved to see confused hazel eyes looking back at him.
“Lee,
son, are you feeling ok?”
“I
guess so Admiral, I seem to be in sickbay though, what about you?”
“I’m
fine now Lee.”
Jamie
came over when he heard the two men talking, he gave Lee a ‘once over lightly’
and then did the same with the Admiral.
“You
are both doing extremely well gentlemen,” he announced.
“Jamie
what happened, I seem to remember being in a lot of pain in my cabin, then I
was somewhere else...” Lee’s voice
trailed off.
“I
don’t understand what took the symptoms so long to manifest but apparently you
were stung by the Irukandji jellyfish, it was touch and go there for awhile. We are going to have a very long talk about
you withholding information from me.
Lee looked
down, clearly uncomfortable about the pending ‘talk’. Nelson noticed that Lee stared at his arms for
a moment and then flexed his back as if checking for something.
“Jamie
is it ok if Lee and I talk for a bit, privately?”
“No
reason you can’t,” Jamie told him, although he was curious about the ‘private’
part. “I could use a trip to the
wardroom; Thomas will be in the office area, if you need anything just holler.”
As he
left Jamie pulled across the accordion curtain that was used to partition off
the office from the bunk area.
The
Admiral got up and went over to Lee, lowered the railing on the bunk and sat on
the edge by Lee’s side.
“Roll
over on your stomach lad.” Lee did so,
mildly curious. Nelson pushed Lee’s sickbay
scrub shirt up, he ran his hands up and down Lee’s shoulders and back several
times, seeing no breaks in the skin, no bleeding wounds or bruises of any sort,
feeling only healthy skin and flesh beneath his hands.
“Um
Admiral, while I enjoy a back rub as much as the next guy, mind telling me
why?”
“You
know why Lee.”
“It
wasn’t a dream Sir?”
“No
son, it wasn’t a dream, I’m not just sure what it was.”
You both know what it was, although you
didn’t at the time, wouldn’t have been much of a test if you did, Argent jumped up on Lee’s
bunk.
Lee
reluctantly rolled back over; he’d rather liked the back rub.
Nelson
rested his right hand on Lee’s right forearm and looked deep into Lee’s eyes,
“Lee, what were you sorry about?”
Lee
knew what he was being asked; he didn’t pretend otherwise. Lee rotated his arm under Nelson’s hand and
took hold of the Admirals forearm in a firm grip, which the older man
returned. With his eyes locked on the
Admiral’s he replied, “That I was leaving you there alone. That I wasn’t going to be there to protect
you. With me dead, I knew they’d start
on you, and for that I was so very sorry.”
Nelson’s
throat constricted painfully and tears once again filled his eyes. What had he ever done to deserve a man like
Lee Crane in his life?
Bravo, came Argent’s thought to both men’s
minds, and that is why you have passed
the test, both of you. Regardless of the
physical or emotional pain, regardless of the sacrifices to be made, neither of
you surrendered in order to spare yourself or the other.
Neither
the Admiral nor Lee felt particularly noble about it, the traumatic experience
still very fresh and painful to both men.
If it’s any consolation to you, the
memory of the test will be wiped from your minds, as will the memory of my
presence here from everyone’s memory.
“When?”
Lee and Nelson asked in unison. There were some things they weren’t sure they
wanted to forget.
Usually immediately, but in your case, I
think you’d like some time together first.
“Yes,
Argent, I know I would like to talk to Lee about some things.”
As I thought, but be aware that even that
will be removed from you memories; however, any changes in your relationship
will remain.
The
two men nodded their understanding.
.....
Jamie
had never heard of anyone recovering so quickly from Irakandji syndrome, but
all Lee seemed to have required was a good solid sleep once the worst was over. The Admiral also got over whatever had afflicted
him.
Jamie
still had no idea what had caused Nelson to collapse. “Why can’t they just break a bone,” he
grumbled to Thomas, “broken bones are so much easier to deal with.” It wasn’t the first time Jamie had made this
observation and Thomas was pretty sure it wouldn’t be the last.
Chip had
been pestering Jamie for reports on Lee’s condition and the Admiral’s. When informed of the dramatic improvement he had
dropped by
“No
need to get to comfortable in here Mr. Morton, they’ll both be out tomorrow
morning,” Jamie advised him.
“Hi
Chip, report,” Lee was hoping to divert Chip from what could be a well deserved
but lengthy XO lecture.
“Aye
Sir, Seaview’s Skipper went swimming in Irakandji infested waters with
absolutely no protection, even though he had his dive skin with him. He failed to mention this to the CMO when
reporting for his post-dive check up. As
a result he greatly inconvenienced his XO by nearly dying.”
Nelson
snorted rather loudly.
Chip
carried on, “And caused the Admiral to collapse in
“Leave
me out of it Mr. Morton,” Nelson told him with a chuckle.
Nelson
loved watching the ‘show’ when Lee and Chip reversed roles, it didn’t happen
often but when it did it was well worth the price of admission. Nelson had been flabbergasted the first time
he’d witnessed it. Lee had accepted the
‘punishment’ as decreed by Chip for, in Chip’s words, “recklessly endangering
the person of the XO.” Nelson never did
find out what Lee was supposed to have done, just that it was something around
Lee, Chip and the FS1. He had to admit
that for the following week Chip’s shoes had never been shinier.
“Do
you have anything to say for yourself Captain Crane?” Chip asked in his best XO voice.
“No
excuses Mr. Morton, Sir,” Lee answered Chip.
“I
see,” Chip put his hands behind his back and rocked back on his heels, “I
suppose flogging is out of the question,” he was startled by the sudden
flinches from both Lee and the Admiral. What was that about?
“Definitely
out of the question,” Nelson stated.
“Doc
would probably object to my putting you on bread and water for a week, so I
guess that’s out too, hmmm.” Chip
started to grin.
Oh oh, Lee thought.
“I
seem to recall that a certain Captain once ‘volunteered’ his XO for KP duty,
Cookie was very appreciative of the extra help.”
“Food
wasn’t very good that day,” Lee mumbled.
“Well
you’re going to have a chance to see if you can do better. I’ll let Cookie know to expect you, let’s say
Tuesday next week.”
“Aye
aye Sir.”
Nelson
figured that he might want to skip meals that day. He was also wondering just what the crew
would make of their Captain working in the galley. They certainly knew that Captain Crane
involved himself in all aspects of Seaview’s operation, but as far as he could
recall this had yet to extend to galley duty.
The
crew were well aware of the dynamics between their Captain and his XO. They usually never knew the cause but were frequently
amused, well hidden of course, over the ‘penalties’ that their Captain and his
XO inflicted on each other. Nelson
decided the crew would probably get it ‘right in one’; the Captain had ticked
off his XO.
Privately
Lee smirked; Chip did not know that not so long ago he had taken gourmet-cooking
classes. Those classes were going to
come in very handy. He’d show Chip a thing or two, as long as he
could convince Cookie to let him do some of the cooking. The man was very territorial.
Doc,
as promised, released the Admiral and Lee from
Lee
stopped by his cabin to change, he looked around for Argent, but he didn’t see
him. After making himself presentable Lee
headed out for a walk around his boat.
He stopped by the galley to have a word with Cookie, turned out Chip had
beat him to it.
“Good
morning Skipper, good to see you out of
“Thanks
Cookie, good to be out. If it wouldn’t
be too big a disruption I’d like to join you next Tuesday to practise some
cooking skills I recently acquired.” Lee
might be the Captain but all captains knew you stepped lightly around your
cook.
“Mr.
Morton mentioned you’d like to lend a hand in here next week, didn’t realize he
meant cooking, Sir. You know it’s not as
easy as you might think.”
“Not
implying it is Cookie, I know it takes enormous skill to produce the fine meals
that you and your galley crew serve every day.
Just between you and me,” Lee lowered his voice conspiratorially, “I’ve
taken some cooking classes and I was hoping that you could watch me and give me
some pointers, it would mean a lot to me.”
Lee
knew he had it in the bag when he saw Cookie’s face light up at the compliment
and the man absolutely grinned when he mentioned his having taken cooking
lessons.
“Why,
it’d be a pleasure Captain.”
For
the next hour Lee roughed out his menu for Tuesday with Cookie. Cookie would have one of his junior cooks
check to be sure they had everything necessary to prepare the meals.
After
Lee left, Cookie advised his galley crew that come Tuesday there would be a new
‘head Cook’ for the day. Under his
watchful eye, Captain Crane would be in charge of meal preparation. A number of eyebrows rose, a soft chuckle or
two could be heard. Cookie sighed and
smiled, “We survived Mr. Morton blundering around in here, and I imagine we’ll
get through having the Captain here.
Might not be so bad, he sounded like he knew what he was talking about.”
.....
That
taken care of Lee headed for the Control Room, a bounce in his step and almost
whistling ‘Food Glorious Food’ from Oliver, hang
on to your stomach Chip Morton, come Tuesday it’s in for a surprise!
.....
Lee
knew Lieutenant O’Brien had the
“Everything
satisfactory Mr. O’Brien?”
“Yes
Sir, depth 90 feet, speed 25 knots, course laid in for
“Very
well Mr. O’Brien, carry on.”
“Aye
aye, Sir.”
When
he had entered the Control Room Lee had seen the Admiral sitting by the windows,
he went forward to join him there.
Nelson
hadn’t turned around when he heard Lee talking to O’Brien, he knew Lee would
come to him. As he heard Lee approach,
he turned, giving Lee a smile. “I think
we’d both like to talk about some things, but not here. Let’s go to my cabin.”
Lee
nodded and took a quick look around the Control Room.
“Seaview
is fine Captain. Mr. O’Brien has things
well in hand.”
“Yes
Sir, I know he does, I just like to...”
The Admiral cut him off, “You like to do everything yourself, I know.”
the Admiral’s smile took any sting that might have been there out of the
comment.
Nelson
placed his hand on Lee’s shoulder and steered him toward the spiral ladder. Lee would have held back to allow Nelson to
precede him but Nelson clearly wanted him to go up first.
When
they got to the Admiral’s cabin, he again indicated that Lee should enter
first. Once inside Lee perched on the
corner of the Admiral’s desk, to his confusion, rather than taking his
customary seat at his desk, Nelson simply stood a few steps from the closed
door, looking at him.
Lee
stood back up, feeling rather awkward as he returned Nelson’s gaze. He was about to say something, although he
hadn’t figured out what, when the Admiral stepped forward and embraced
him. Lee returned the unexpected show of
affection and after a few seconds, the two released each other.
The
Admiral broke the silence first, “As men we don’t say it very often and seldom
show it but I couldn’t be prouder of you, or love you any more than if you were
my natural born son. I do not ever want
to lose you. And, God forbid, if
something should happen to one of us, I don’t want to regret never having told
you how I feel.”
Lee
swallowed hard; the feelings he had experienced when he was dying came flooding
back to him, as they obviously had to the man before him.
“And
I couldn’t be more honoured...to have you in my life as my friend...my
father...or love you any better than if you were my natural father,” Lee
managed to choke out.
Neither
man being able to continue talking, they simply hugged each other again.
“Shit,
I don’t know how women do this all the time, it’s hard work,” muttered the
Admiral as he ruffled Lee’s hair and let him go.
Lee
grinned, “Yes, but it feels real good to have said it, Sir. Especially without the ‘about to die’ part.”
“Couldn’t
agree more, lad. ummm I’ve been meaning to say something to you about Edith, or
Caitlin, as she seems to prefer to be called.”
Oh shit, what did I do, what did I say, I
don’t think I did anything improper last time we went to dinner? Thank goodness he doesn’t mind read, does he?
Nelson
watched the look of panic cross Lee’s face and eyes. He had to pretend to cough to cover the smile
breaking out on his face.
“Lee
I’ve observed that the two of you seem to have an ‘interest’ in each other.”
“I
think so, Sir.” Apparently, I didn’t cover that up very well. He said ‘the two of you’, so she is
interested in me, maybe more than a little.
Is he going to tell me where I can put my ‘interest’?
“I
know you to be an honourable man Lee; I wouldn’t be personally concerned if you
wanted to get to know Caitlin better, even romantically.”
Lee
wanted to be crystal clear on this, “so you wouldn’t have any concerns or
objections if I dated Caitlin?”
“None,
other than to warn you that she usually gets what she wants, so be sure you
want it too.”
Lee
took a deep breath, “Oh I don’t think that will be a problem, Sir.”
“That’s
fine then lad, fine.”
Having
exhausted themselves emotionally they both gratefully began a more natural
conversation.
“Have
you seen that blasted cat around lately Lee?”
“No
Sir, come to think of it I haven’t.
Maybe Argent has left.”
“Harumpf,”
was what Nelson thought of that.
There
was a knock on the Admiral’s door, “Come,” Nelson said.
The
door opened and Chip stuck his head in, “Ah begging the Admiral’s pardon, but
it’s 1400 and I don’t believe the Captain has had lunch yet. I believe the CMO instructed that the Captain
was not to skip any meals.”
“Is that
so Captain?” Of course Nelson knew it
was but he was willing to play along.
“I
vaguely recall something along those lines, Sir.”
“It
just so happens I haven’t had lunch yet either.
Mr. Morton if you’d like to accompany us, I’m sure the Captain will be
happy to comply with the doctor’s orders.”
“Yes
Sir, my pleasure,” responded Chip.
As
they left the Admiral’s cabin and headed for the wardroom Lee inclined his head
toward Chip, “Haven’t you already had lunch?”
“Yes,
but given that on Tuesday the quality of the meals is likely to be
questionable, I’m eating extra now.”
Lee
couldn’t stop a big grin from spreading across his face. Chip couldn’t help but wonder about that
grin.
After
they finished eating, the Admiral got up to go to his lab to look over some of
the specimens that had been collected.
“You’ve
got the first dog watch Skipper,” Chip advised Lee.
“Ah
the joys of light duty.” Lee could
foresee an extremely boring week ahead of him.
.....
Lee
entered the Control Room at 1530 and relieved Lieutenant O’Brien early. As he was checking over the reports he
noticed a problem reported from the circuitry room, deciding to check into it
further he picked up the mic in his right hand.
A strange hush seemed to settle around him, the normal sounds from the
Control Room faded into the background.
A soft white light was coming from above him, still holding the mic in
his hand he looked up. The light
strengthened and inside it, he could just make out what appeared to be the
outline of a cat.
It’s time Lee Crane, Knight of the Light,
Champion and bearer of the essence of a noble line.
I thought maybe you’d forgotten this part, Lee thought to Argent.
No, it is not permitted that you or the
Admiral should remember what has transpired.
It would be an unnecessary burden.
Not all of it Argent, not all.
The
light slowly faded and as it did Lee felt lightheaded and disoriented. The light spread through the boat, erasing
all memory of a silver tabby cat.
Argent
thought to himself as he left, I like
these men; perhaps I will check in on them from time to time.
In
the Control Room Lee gave his head a shake, “Crane to Circuitry Room.”
“Circuitry
Room Aye.”
.....
The
rest of the watch passed quietly, Lee was satisfied with the progress in the
Circuitry Room and found nothing else to pique his interest in the rest of the reports. When his watch was over he stopped in at the
lab to see how the Admiral was coming along.
“Come
in Lee, this is fascinating. Take a look
through the microscope, see the growth bands on the coral, you can get a lot of
information from those. The age of the
coral, the environmental conditions when it was growing...”
“Yes,
Sir.” Lee dutifully looked at the coral.
Nelson smiled, he knew darned well his
Captain would far rather be looking at circuitry boards or system readouts. He felt a warmth spread through him as he
looked at Lee. He knew he’d been feeling fatherly towards Lee for quite some
time now, but it suddenly seemed much stronger.
Lee has come to be so important to
me personally, as if he were my very own son.
Have to talk to him about it one day; I want him to know how I feel. Time to tell him I have no objections if he
wants to date Edith. Yes, one of these
days we’ll talk...
As
Lee examined the coral, he felt a new stronger surge of protectiveness and
devotion towards the Admiral. Heck if he wants me to look at coral, I’ll
look at coral, do it standing on my head if he asked me to. Someday I have to tell him just how much he’s
come to mean to me in so many ways. As
if he were my father. I’d like him to
know how I feel. Like to ask him how
he’d feel about my dating Caitlin ...one of these days...
.....
Epilogue
Chip
rolled over in his bunk. Well it’s Tuesday, THE Tuesday. This
should be fun! Chip got himself put
together in his usual immaculate way and headed down the corridor, he’d see if
Lee was ready. As he approached Lee’s
door the Admiral was just closing it.
“We’re too late Chip, he’s not here.”
“Maybe
he’s eating breakfast before he starts messing things up for Cookie, Sir.”
“Mr.
Morton just because you couldn’t tell the difference between sugar and salt
does not necessarily mean Captain Crane will have the same difficulty.”
“No
Sir,” Chip replied. But I wouldn’t put money on it! It gets very busy in there and the canisters
look a lot alike, the cook should have checked it when I passed it to him.
As
they entered the wardroom they could hear compliments sailing in Cookies
direction, “Wow Cookie, this is fantastic!”
“Hey Cookie you’ve outdone yourself!” “I want the recipe for my wife.”
Chip
and the Admiral had to admit that the aroma from breakfast was mouth-watering. Their mouths literally dropped open as Cookie
answered the many compliments.
“Don’t
tell me tell the Captain, he’s been here since 0400 making your breakfast. Hey Skipper, they want your recipes.”
Lee
appeared beside Cookie, chef’s hat on his head, “Hey no problem, give your
names to Mr. Morton and he’ll be sure to write you out a copy and give it
to you.”
“Morning
Admiral, Chip!” Lee greeted them
cheerfully, and then disappeared back into the galley.
Chip
was astonished. “Lee can cook? I don’t believe it, Cookie let him cook! Cookie doesn’t let anybody take over his
kitchen. I thought Lee would be scraping
pots and pans.”
“We’ll
let that be a lesson to you Mr. Morton, don’t underestimate your Captain.” The Admiral was just as surprised as Chip but
he wasn’t going to admit it.
Just
then Lee came back out of the galley, an assistant following him with trays
laden with food.
“If you’d
like to take a seat Admiral, Mr. Morton, breakfast is served.”
With
a flourish, Lee removed from the trays mini pie pans of Hash Brown Cheese Egg
Pies and plates of French Toast stuffed with an mixture of Spiced Apricot
Preserves and Cream Cheese, tops dusted with icing sugar and fresh ground
nutmeg. Another plate was piled high with
smoked Canadian bacon slices. There were
also two bowls of fresh fruit, glazed with something that smelled suspiciously
like brandy and a basket of freshly baked breakfast rolls.
Chip
was speechless as Lee grinned at him.
“Well don’t just stare at it, dig in,” Lee instructed.
Chip
took one of the Egg Pies, the Admiral started with the French Toast. Chip dug his fork into the pie and discovered
that beneath the egg in the ample hash brown shell there was melted peppered cheddar
cheese, he popped the forkful into his mouth and started chewing.
“Gotta
admit Lee, these are really good.”
The
Admiral looked over at Chip, “Wait until you try the stuffed French Toast!”
.....
When
the assistant cook had checked with stores to make sure that the Captain would
have all the ingredients he required, there was a bit of a mystery
discovered. There seemed to be a lot of
cat food on board, no one knew why.
The End
*the
Longnosed Chimaera belongs to the order of Chimaeriformes, there are 6 species
of Chimaera Fishes that live in various oceans around the world. The name
"Chimaera" comes from the Greek word Chimaera that means monster.
** ANGLES AND DANGLES - A submariners' term for a critical
exercise that usually takes place right after a nuclear submarine leaves port. Once in deep water, the sub dives deep and
then comes back up, both at a steep angle. Anything that is not properly secured will
fall down, making some noise. These are
known as dangles, and they must be corrected before a sub is fully rigged for
silent running.
*** The
United States Navy Master Diver
is the highest qualification obtainable by a member of U.S. Navy diving
community. A Master Diver has the most
experience and knowledge on all aspects of diving and underwater salvage.
**** A
dive skin is a thin, one-piece body suit, which will protect your skin from
cuts, scrapes, abrasions, and stings which can occur while you are scuba
diving. Dive skins are most commonly
made out of lycra, an elastic fabric with a silky sheen. Dive skins offer almost no thermal protection
and are not recommended for use alone unless you are scuba diving in very warm
water.
*****The
Irukandji (C. barnesi) is a small jellyfish approx 2cm diameter bell,
responsible for an unusual and dramatic syndrome observed following stings in
northern Australia, especially north Queensland.
The
initial sting of the jellyfish is usually not very painful. But about 5-45
(usually 30) minutes after being stung severe low back pain; excruciating muscle cramps in
all four limbs, the abdomen and chest; sweating, anxiety, restlessness, nausea,
vomiting, headache and palpitations occur.
The pain is severe, unbearable and comes in 'waves' (similar to labour
pains), although never fading completely. Chest pain or 'tightness' occurs from spasm of
the intercostal muscles (those between the ribs) as well as probable heart
muscle pain in some severe cases.
In
rare cases, the victim suffers pulmonary oedema (fluid on the lungs) which
could be fatal if not treated.
No
definitive treatment is currently available for the Irukandji syndrome. The Australian Venom Research Unit is
currently involved in research to develop an antivenin to treat Irukandji
envenomation.