Two for Terror

By Seaview Siren

Alternate Universe story based on The Human Computer with paraphrasing from the same.

Dr Reston's computer was a super electronic brain of such technological genius it was

considered advanced 20 years ahead of its time. The Admiral was eager to test it which meant

it would be running the Seaview. No one needed to be aboard but a derelict ship could be

claimed by the country of those who found it so Captain Crane was staying, such was his

loyalty to the sub.

Claire was also staying, such was her loyalty to him.

Claire hadn't said too much to the Admiral but she had a bad feeling about all of this.She

thought it was a recipe for disaster. She'd gone topside with her bag, only to come back down

again while the computers were being installed and head to her cabin.

Kowalski had actually joked that if the computer was so clever, how come it couldn't install itself,

the lads had found carrying it and all the components back breaking.

“Just relax Lee,”Admiral Nelson said, “the computer is in charge. You will be taken to the

co-ordinates where the war games are due to start. There are some destroyers waiting for you.

The computer is programmed to take evasive action and hug the bottom”

“ Don't worry,” Dr. Reston said “any problems and you're to contact me by short wave radio ok?”

Lee nodded.

“Have a good rest Lee, Claire already gone?”Admiral Nelson asked.

“Yes she went up a while ago, didn't say goodbye, seemed to be in a hurry”

It was unlike Claire, especially knowing he was staying aboard alone.

She hadn't wanted to stay with Lee on this mission then?

Claire was aboard, in her cabin. She was waiting until they got underway, not that there was

much Lee could do about it anyway, Claire was here and she did have work she could be doing.

Truth was she wanted to be alone with the handsome Captain, this seemed ideal.

They'd so far only had stolen moments, Two days at sea, just the two of them. She wanted him to

make love to her. So far they had kissed, they had kissed quite passionately in the ships Lab

late one night, both wanting to go further. There was an attraction between them and Claire

wanted them to take the next step.

Claire sat at her desk and read some reports, why she doing all this work? She'd left a

telephone message with Lola Hale at the Institute saying she was unavailable. It didn't matter

anyway as the Admiral was flying to Washington to oversee the planned war games

from the Pentagon. They had to lose Seaview on their sonar for it to be deemed

a success.

The computer had already taken evasive action on a similar test run prior to this, now it was in

charge of the Seaview.

The tape began to run and the computers started up, Captain Crane watched all the instrumentation

come to life, then ran down to the nose and saw them leaving port, him all alone, He couldn't

think where Claire had rushed off to, couldn't believe she'd not hung around to say goodbye or

tried to stay with him

Unbeknown to him there was also a third person aboard, a saboteur who had orders to sabotage

the radio and change the tape so the course was changed, bringing the Seaview into

his country's ocean. Then the computer would be stolen once they'd learnt its and Seaview's secrets.

But first, he had to make it look like Captain Crane had died by accident.

They were underway now, and Claire was in her cabin, changed into a pair of jogging bottoms

and a hoodie and some trainers. She heard a door close up here on officers country, and

ran out of her cabin thinking it was Lee. But it was another man, she saw disappear

round the corner. Her insides went cold. Who was he?

Claire hurried back to her cabin and shut herself in. Was he one of Dr Reston's geeks. She didn't

think so, so who was he? Was Lee's life in danger?

She hung on as Seaview lurched in a dive.

Lee had seen the destroyers out of the periscope and now watched Seaview's dive from the

observation nose in awe.

Claire sat at her desk trying to contact the 'Office of Naval Intelligence' to get Kim Sandars but

she couldn't get through. Was this guy part of the war games? She didn't think so.

She'd heard some of the briefing in the observation nose before pretending to go ashore

they were to dive and sit on the bottom and get out of the destroyer's sonar range. That was

their part, then they could head for home. But what about this guy she'd seen?

Claire knew she would have to stake this guy out. She was in the perfect position with Captain

Crane not knowing she was aboard. She would have to follow this man whoever he was.

Lee was back in the Control Room, and watched the steering wheels moving on their own at

the helmsmen's seats. The levers moved, Seaview lurched, and Lee hung onto the chair

as Seaview headed for the bottom. He continued to hang on to the chair back as the

submarine landed on the sea bed and was jolted forward, then side-ways.

Instrumentation was flashing, and he was impressed. He rushed down to the observation nose to

see for himself just how well she'd landed. Sure enough, Seaview was level. He sighed and

decided to make some coffee, picked up the pot and found it empty, then went to fill it.

Claire had fallen on the deck when they'd hit bottom. She got back up gingerly and took the

spiral stairs down to the control room. She saw no sign of Lee ot that other guy. She looked

around the control room at all the instrumentation flashing. Intelligent these computers may be

but she would sure feel better with crewmen up here and Mr Morton taking control like he did

so well.

Computers were only as good as the person that knew how to repair them when they went

wrong. Claire heard footsteps and hid behind the periscope base, her heart pounding.

Lee had come back up just to check again, he was naturally suspicious . That’s what came of

being a submariner she guessed. She saw his feet as he walked by and wanted to reach out to

him so badly but this other guy was stopping her from doing so, if he was going to make an

attempt on Lee Crane's life, Claire had to stop him!

Lee went back down to the observation nose and suddenly the sub plunged into darkness.

Lee took a flash light and came back up to the control room. Hr shone it on a panel and pressed a

Button. The lights came back on but only temporarily. They went out again, he sighed

and marched over to the radio-shack and put a call in to the Admiral Nelson at the Pentagon.

“Nelson here,” Admiral Nelson answered.

“Admiral, you can tell Dr. Reston his superbrain is a first class Commander. It took perfect

action and we're sitting on the bottom,” Lee said cheerfully down the Mic.

“The destroyers report they have lost you on their Sonar. You can consider your part of the test

over Lee, ”Admiral Nelson said smiling.

“Well can you do me a favour?” Lee asked smiling.“These machines may not need light but I do,

I've got a blackout down here.”

Admiral Nelson passed the Mic to Dr.Reston who told him to reset a series of buttons to

get the lights back on.

“You'll be started back in a matter of minutes Lee, relax!” Admiral Nelson told him,

Lee put the Mic down and walked past where Claire was hiding and ran back down

to the nose, Claire remained where she was, this guy had to make an appearance up here

didn't he?

Lee sat in the nose sipping coffee and playing chess with himself.

The other man showed up then, he entered the control room and walked past. Claire

was up the ladder now leading to the outer hatch she was straining her ears to listen, she

heard him open the panelling to the radio and wires sparking. He walked past again

carrying a tape reel in his hand, he was obviously going to change their course.

He went over to where the computer’s navigation tape was running and stopped it, looking

round, He removed the tape and threw it aside, put in he was carrying with him. He left

the control room

The computer made a noise with the tape as though it was initalising it. Lee came back

up to the control room to look around.

The man had ran down the stairwell to the lower corridors.

“Come on, come on lets head for home!” Lee said, getting impatient. He tutted and went to

the radio to call Dr.Reston again. He saw the panelling was loose, his forehead creased in a frown,

he opened the panelling and took out some wiring that was all cut and looked around with a

pure look of terror on his face. The radio had been sabotaged, he wasn't alone!

Claire was back in her cabin, and took a gun out of her safe, a piece of protection given to

her for her safety by Admiral Nelson. He had enemies, was worried she's have them too

working as close to Admiral Nelson as she did. He had shown her how to aim and fire.

Captain Crane was unaware she had a gun. She took it and left her cabin.

Captain Crane ran back down to the nose as they had started to move again, he ran back up to

the control room, the Seaview was climbing again. He heard a noise from down the stairs

Seaview was climbing again, he heard a noise from down the stairs, he ran down them.

He moved stealthily along the corridor. He needed a gun. He picked up a large spanner up

from out of a ventilation inlet a damage party had been working on and fixing earlier. He

walked holding the spanner and entered the small arms locker.

He moved stealthily along the corridor, he needed a gun, he picked a large spanner up from out

of a ventilation inlet a damage party had been working on and fixing earlier. He walked

holding the spanner and entered the small arms locker.

Claire was further down the corridor. She'd seen the man; he was heading for the missile room

she dodged in and out of storage areas, couldn't be seen.

Captain Crane loaded a gun and left the small arms locker, He heard a banging noise and set

off in pursuit of it, his own heart racing. Who was this aboard? Obviously a saboteur of

some kind, obviously they were after the computer. Lee opened a water-tight hatch

and neared the banging, his heart pounding as he rounded a corner and saw a fire extinguisher

banging against a bulkhead. He steadied it with shaking hands and walked on. It started to

bang again. The man hurled past an open junction at the end of the corridor and Lee gave a

shot, missed him, ran on.

Claire heard the shots, panicked. She stood against the store lockers door, her gun in hand.

She heard footsteps then Lee's voice over the intercom.

“Who are you? What do you want?” he was asking the intruder, He got no reply and hurried

past. Claire went out and headed the other way. She took the other junction to the missile room

corridor. The man opened the hatch and ran in there. She heard more footsteps and Lee's questions.

He got no reply, he hurried past, Claire went out and headed the other way, she

took the other junction to the missile room corridor, the man opened the hatch and ran in there.

She heard more footsteps, Lee's. She ran round the corner.

Lee headed into the missile room, where only the night lights were on. Claire crept in and hid

behind a missile silo. She could see the man at the mini sub area. He was doing something with

it. Was he planning on launching it? She didn't think so.

Lee was at the other side where the diving gear was kept. When the man ran round

the back behind the torpedo's, Lee headed towards the mini sub area.

Claire wanted to scream. He'd sabotaged it to fall on Lee, to kill him!

Gave a shot up in the air as if to distract Lee, but it was too late. The mini sub fell, knocking

him down, a scream caught in her throat.

The man left the missile room, Claire needed to be over there where Lee was.

Her heart was in her throat as she began to walk over but she heard movement and shrank

back behind a torpedo. Lee struggled to free himself but he got up and Claire swallowed

her heart back down. He limped away.

Lee limped gingerly along the corridor looking for the man. He saw his shadow at the junction

and fired a shot, then another. He hurried along, rounded the corner and the guy was in

front of him, Lee squeezed the trigger but the gun was empty. The guy aimed at him but Lee

dodged the bullet and slipped into another locker area, the ballast pump area, the smallest

place on the submarine, just what the guy wanted, who dogged the hatch.

Lee took a Mic, “Who are you, what do you want?” he asked again, “TELL ME!” he demanded,

“Don't concern yourself with that Captain Crane, now I have you exactly where I wanted you to

go, the smallest space on the submarine. The accident in the missile room failed to kill you, this

will not”

Claire was listening staring up at the intercom.

“What do you want?” Lee asked again, “The computer of course for my country, The Seaview

is already on its way there as I have changed the tapes around. My country will get the computer

to harness the information and your country will get your submarine back with you dead.

Death by asphyxiation because I'm cutting off your air supply!

The smallest place on the submarine, where the hell was that, Claire asked herself, panicking

She crouched on the floor getting her breath back. She should know more about the Seaview.

There were maps but there was no time to find one.Where the hell where was Lee?

She saw the man then heading out of a storage area. Was that the place? Sobs caught in her throat.

Lee loosened his shirt collar.The air was musty down here, barely breathable. He watched his

air supply run out, as the ribbons in the duct stopped moving. He clung to it, his body covered in

perspiration. He opened the hatch hastily and saw her standing there.

“Claire?” he gasped as if uncertain,

“You don't think I'd really leave you here alone do you?” she gasped

He grabbed hold of her in a hug,

“Darling you're a sight for sore eyes, you are!”

He gripped Claire's shoulders, “Where have you been hiding? We've got company, We've got

company, we ….”he began and saw the gun stuck in her trousers pocket, and took it from her,

“A present from Admiral Nelson for my safety!” she told him,“I've been chasing our visitor all over

the submarine. I was in the control room. He wrecked the radio, he's changed the tape. I fired

the shot in the living room to try to distract you. I think he's gone back to the control room!”

Lee cupped her face then, sheer relief showing on his, his eyes twinkling, and kissed her.

“Come on,” he said taking her hand,

“You need a bandage on your ankle!” she told him.

“Stay behind me,”he told her as they climbed up to the control room.

“Get up to the hatch!” Lee ordered her as soon as they entered.

The man came back in and Lee fired Claire's gun but missed. Lee got behind the periscope

base, to aim again, but the man lunged at him. Lee was fighting for his life. Suddenly a shot

fired.

Claire began to climb down, her heart pounding, had he shot Lee?

Lee got up then and pressed the periscope button, bringing it down onto the man's back

trapping him.

“Are you Ok?”Claire asked Lee.

“Yes he missed. Got the base”

“The tape,” Claire said breathlessly.

As Lee rushed to where the tape was running and replaced it with the original. Claire

went down to the observation nose where she knew there was a first aid kit.

Lee watched the instrumentation flashing and the tape run and the steering wheels begin to

move to answer to the change of course. The man was out cold, gash on his forehead. Lee

got some handcuffs from the locker and chained him there to the base. He'd be dealt with at

port. Lee had some more pressing issues requiring his immediate attention

“Come on let me bandage your ankle Lee?” Claire asked him, as Lee joined her in the nose.

She knelt next to him and removed his shoe and sock. The ankle was swollen and he

winced when she applied a 'instant cold pack' to it.

“Hows that feel?” she asked him.

“OK you're an amazing girl Claire” he told her

“How’s that feel?”she asked him, giving him a smile.

“Its fine”he said.

Claire smiled at him.

“Why did you really stay behind?”

“So we could be alone together,”she said.

Lee stood up gingerly and drew her into his arms.

“I've really enjoyed some of this mission,” Claire told Lee hours later with a slight flush,

as they toasted some bread in the Wardroom and heated some water for instant coffee and tea.

“It certainly had its moments!”

When they arrived back at port Admiral Nelson and Dr. Reston were waiting.

“Miss Young!”Nelson exclaimed, more surprized at seeing her than the man that Lee was

leading to the dockside guards.

“I kind of stowed away,”Claire said, as Lee returned.

“Claire saved my life”

“Somehow that doesn't surprise me,”Admiral Nelson said,

“Come along to my office and tell me all about it.”

THE END.