Troubled Waters by Pauline
Kowalski
and Riley were returning from two weeks’ shore leave. They chattered happily about the great time
they’d had on shore as they walked down the corridors of Seaview leading to
their quarters. Riley as usual, had
spent most of his time on the beach with his surfing buddies, while Kowalski
had gone on a long-planned visit home.
As they neared their quarters, the conversation turned to speculating on
how the newest member of Seaview’s crew, Mickey Emmerson, had spent his
leave. Emmerson who was bunking in their
quarters, was something of a loner and did not mix with the rest of the crew
during his free time. Kowalski had
strong doubts about his suitability for service on a submarine.
Their
conversation stopped as the sound of a loud ruckus met them as they approached
their quarters. Entering, they found
Patterson and Murphy trying to subdue a noisy Emmerson, who was plainly the
worse for drink.
“Oh,
man, how did he get like this?” Kowalski asked as he waded in to help.
“Where’s
the Capt’n? I wanna see Captain Crane!”
Emmerson protested loudly as he struggled to break loose from his captors.
“If
Captain Crane catches you in this condition he’ll have you thrown off the
boat,” Kowalski told him.
“Yeah,
quiet down before Sharkey or Mr Morton hears,” Riley advised. If the exec
should hear and come down to investigate, all hell would break loose, and
Emmerson would find himself hauled up in front of the Captain so fast his feet
wouldn’t touch the deck.
“Let
me go. I wanna speak to the Skippa’,”
Emmerson continued to protest loudly as he tried to pull free.
“What’s
wrong with you, anyway? Coming back in
this condition,” Kowalski asked. “And how did you get past Mr Morton?” It was nearly impossible to sneak anything
past the Exec, especially when he was officer of the watch.
“His
girlfriend dumped him,” Patterson explained.
“Is
that all? Kowalski replied
unsympathetically. “We get to meet
hundreds of girls – ain’t that right?”
Kowalski appealed to his friends to back him up.
“Yeah,”
Riley grinned happily.
“I
don’t want any other girl,” Emmerson said mournfully.
“What
are we going to do with him?” Patterson asked. “We’re due on watch in an hour.”
They had managed to get the sorry crewman onto a bunk and Murphy was to
practically sit on him to hold him down.
“I’ll
go down to the galley and see if I can rustle up some coffee,” Riley
volunteered, heading for the door.
“He
needs more than coffee,” Patterson commented, but he spoke to Riley’s departing
back as he left on his self appointed task.
Kowalski
had been trying to think of a solution to the problem, but so far an answer had
eluded him. “I still want to know how he
got past Mr Morton,” he said, thinking aloud, but not really expecting a reply.
****
Captain
Lee Crane parked his car in the space reserved for him and walked across the
parking lot, heading for Seaview’s dock.
He was looking forward to getting back to duty. Shore leave was always welcome, and he had
made the most of every minute, but after two weeks ashore he was ready to get
back to Seaview. He had always loved the
sea and now felt completely at home aboard his boat. She had become a part of his life and he did
not want to think about what he would do when the time came for him to give up
his command. At thirty five he was the
youngest sub commander in the history of the navy, and had plenty of years
left, barring any debilitating injuries.
Maybe he should think about curtailing his activity with ONI, but
secretly, he enjoyed the excitement.
Stopping
at the top of the steps, he stood watching the activity on the dockside. Several large crates sat ready to be loaded
on board and some of the crew were standing by ready the aft hatch, watching
while ropes were secured to one of the crates and obviously they were waiting
to help with the loading. Crane could
not see what was stencilled on the side of the crates, but he guessed it was
probably parts, or some new toy Nelson was experimenting with.
A
car drew to a halt, attracting his attention, and he smiled as he saw Nelson
emerge. “Morning, Admiral.”
“Hello,
Lee. Did you have a good shore leave?”
Nelson enquired, returning the smile.
Crane’s
smile widened. “Yes, very, thank you.”
“Good,”
Nelson obviously chose not to pursue the line of conversation, walking down the
steps and crossing over the gangplank.
“I
wonder where Chip’s got to,” Lee commented, catching up with Nelson. He had expected Chip to meet them on deck as
usual, but there was no sign of him.
“He’s
probably below in the control room,” Nelson suggested, walking across on to the
deck ahead of Crane.
Crane
followed Nelson across the gangplank onto the deck. The sail hatch was open and he concluded that
Nelson was probably right, and they would find Chip in the control room. Still something did not feel right. Dismissing it as imagination, he stepped
through the hatch and followed Nelson below.
****
Riley
returned with a pot of coffee just as Emmerson made another bid for freedom.
Kowalski and Patterson both turned anxiously as the door opened; worried that
it might be the Chief. The distraction
gave the drunken crewman the chance he needed and he broke away. The next thing Patterson knew, he was on the
deck.
“Hey,
are you all right, Pat?” Kowalski asked, bending down to help his friend back
to his feet.
Murphy
had temporarily been left to subdue Emmerson on his own. Seeing that he was in trouble, Riley
hurriedly put the pot of coffee on the table and went to help. Emmerson used his feet to push Riley away and
the redhead crashed back against the table and rolled off onto the floor. Murphy and Emmerson stumbled over to collide
with Kowalski and they all sprawled on the deck.
Considering
his condition, Emmerson was quick to recover.
He pushed up onto his hands and knees and scrambled away as just as
Riley was regaining his senses. The
youngster tried to grab his ankles, but Emmerson was out of reach. By the time Riley was back on his feet,
Emmerson had reached the door and plunged through it.
****
Entering
the control, Lee paused at the bottom of the ladder. Sparks was busy in the radio shack, and he
was surprised to find O’Brien at the plot table. “Mr O’Brien, what are you
doing here? Where is Mr Morton?” he
asked, unable to locate his exec.
“Mr
Morton is in sickbay, Sir,” O’Brien told him.
“Sickbay? What is he doing down there?” Crane demanded
as alarm bells started going off in his head.
O’Brien
looked nervous. “Mr Morton was found unconscious, sir,” O’Brien informed him.
“I don’t know anything else.”
Lee
had heard enough, his unease returning full force. “Very well, Mr O’Brien, get
up to the bridge. Sparks, take over
here.” He ordered as he almost ran from the control room, headed for sickbay.
****
Morton
was perched on the examination table, trying to convince Jamieson that he well
enough to return to duty. They both
turned to the door as Crane entered.
“What
happened?” Lee asked, walking towards them. “Are you okay?”
Morton
opened his mouth to assure Lee that he was fine, but Jamieson beat him to it.
“He’s had a bad knock, I’d like to keep him for observation,” the doctor told
him.
“Will
you two stop fussing? I’m okay,” Chip
insisted with irritation.
“So
what happened?” Lee repeated.
“The
local police brought Emmerson back, drunk.
When I tried to confine him to quarters, he went crazy, decked me, and
the next thing I knew I came to in Sickbay.”
“Are
you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll
live, but Emmerson is going to wish he were dead when I catch up with him,”
Chip winced as he slid down from the examination table.
“Now,
Chip. Don’t you think you should hear what he has to say before you pronounce
judgement?” Lee said, unable to keep the smile from his face.
“It’s
all right for you, you’re not the one he hit,” Chip complained.
By
this time Nelson had arrived to investigate why one of his officers was in
sickbay when they hadn’t even sailed yet. “I’m surprised at you, Chip. Letting a mere deckhand get the better of
you,” he joked. “You’re not getting soft I hope.”
Despite
the potential seriousness of the incident, Lee couldn’t resist joining in,
since it made a change from being on the receiving end. “Yeah, when the crew
get to hear...” he shook his head. “Could be problems.”
Their
teasing did nothing to improve Chip’s mood and Lee decided it was time he did
something about Emmerson. After all,
hitting an officer was a serious offence. He walked over and took the mike from
its bracket on the wall. “Master at Arms, this is the Captain. Find Mickey Emmerson and bring him to my
cabin.”
“Aye,
aye, Sir.” The MMA responded.
Lee
turned to Jamieson. “Have you finished with him, Doc?”
“Yes,
for now,” Jamieson conceded, having no real reason to keep Morton in sickbay.
“Chip, you know the score. If you feel
any dizziness or nausea, you report back here, all right?”
“All
right, Doc,” Morton agreed grudgingly.
“You
had better come with me, Chip. We’ll see what Emmerson has to say for himself,”
Lee said, walking toward the door. “I’ll need your report, Doc, as soon as
possible,” he threw back over his shoulder as he paused at the door to allow
Chip to go first.
“You’ll
have it, Captain.”
****
Morton
got up from where he had been sitting on the edge of Lee’s desk at a knock on
the cabin door.
“Come
in,” Lee called in answer, looking toward the door.
The
door opened and Chief Sharkey came in, closing the door behind him. “There’s no
sign of Emmerson, Sir,” he reported as he approached the desk.
Lee
looked at his watch. Nearly an hour had passed since they had started the
search. There was a good chance that the
seaman was no-longer aboard, and they would be getting underway shortly. “Very
well, Chief, secure the search.”
“Aye,
sir.”
“Have
you notified Security at the institute?” Crane asked.
“Yes,
Sir – but so far he hasn’t shown,” Sharkey told him.
Lee
nodded thoughtfully, turning his attention to Chip. “If you’re sure you’re
okay, Chip, you’d better get to the control room. I’ll join you there later.”
“I’ll
be fine,” Chip assured him. “You’re not going to delay sailing?”
Lee
shook his head. “No, security can handle it, and if you still want to press
charges when we get back, we can arrange a trial.”
“Yes,
Sir.” Morton hurried off the prepare Seaview for departure, the first watch
would be reporting for duty about now.
Crane
turned back to Sharkey. “Have they finished loading, Chief?”
“Aye,
Sir – all secure.”
“All
right then, carry on, Chief,” Lee dismissed Sharkey and opened the folder
containing Jamieson’s medical report.
Better to get this sorted out and finalised so that he could concentrate
on the mission.
****
In the ballast pump room, Emmerson woke from his
drunken sleep with a throbbing headache.
It took him a little while to recognise where he was. Clambering unsteadily to his feet, he
squinted at his watch and was dismayed to find that it was past time for the
first watch. It would be impossible to
get off the boat now. The crew would
have all the hatches covered, and it was more than likely that they were
already at sea. If only those damn
cops’s hadn’t interfered, he’d be on his way home now.
Rubbing his blood shot eyes, he looked
around. He would just have to go to
Crane and hope that the Captain would be sympathetic. But he knew that was
unlikely, from what he had heard, the Captain and Morton were close friends,
and he wasn’t likely to get much sympathy there. More likely he would end up in the brig until
they returned to Santa Barbara, then he’d be court marshalled.
What a
mess! He
hadn’t meant to hit Morton, he had just panicked, and then it had been too
late. He would gladly give himself up once
he had straightened things out with Marcia.
Seaview didn’t need him; some-one else would take his place. There were plenty of men waiting for the
chance to serve aboard Seaview.
Opening the hatch, he checked the corridor
before climbing out and dogging it behind him.
The corridor was empty and he wondered where the Captain was. He couldn’t confront him in the control room;
there would be too many people. He
needed a weapon, and then Crane would have to listen to him. But the problem was that most of the guns
were kept under lock and key. But there
were spear guns in the aft storage locker, if he could get there without being
seen.
****
Crane placed the report back in the folder and
put it in the desk drawer. He was in the
middle of tidying his desk when he was interrupted by an unexpected knock at
the cabin door. Expecting it to be the
Nelson, he called out cheerfully. “Come in, Admiral.
Emmerson entered, somewhat nervously. There was
a spear gun in his hand, but it wasn’t levelled at Crane.
“Emmerson!”
Crane said in surprise. That was
the last person he was expecting a visit from.
He reached out slowly towards the intercom.
“Don’t!” Emmerson was across the short distance
to his desk, swinging the gun and knocking the speaker off the desk before
Crane had time to make the call. “I’m sorry, Captain, but I must talk to you,”
he apologised.
“Put down the weapon and I’ll listen to what you
have to say,” Lee held out a hand for the gun.
“No!”
Emmerson brought the spear gun up to point at Crane. “You have to let me
off the boat. I need to go home.” His
voice was becoming more and more agitated.
“Now calm down.
Shooting me won’t help,” Lee said calmly, keeping eye contact with the
crewman. If he pushed him, he might just
pull the trigger, and he did not want to think about what damage a spear could
do at close range. What he needed was a
distraction, something to give to give him time to get the weapon away from the
rating. The two stood watching each
other for a moment. “All right, suppose you tell me what this is all about,”
Lee said finally.
“Marcia, my girl, says she’s got another guy,”
Emmerson said miserably. “If I could just see her, talk to her, I could set her
straight.”
How many times had he heard this story, Crane
thought. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he
said carefully, “But I can’t just let you go.
You’ve committed a serious offence and I have to place you under arrest
until we sort things out.”
“I won’t let you do that,” Emmerson shouted. “If
you won’t help me I’ll have to kill you,” he threatened.
“You don’t want to kill anyone. Think about what you are doing,” Crane tried
to reason with him. He could see that
the rating was getting close to breaking point.
Perhaps the brig was the wrong place for him, considering his
condition. Sickbay would be more
suitable, only first he had to persuade Emmerson to go there. “Don’t throw away
your future,” Crane urged.
“It’s already too late, you said so yourself,
Captain. I’m in serious trouble, but
you’re going to be my passport off this boat, he told Crane, gesturing towards
the door.
Crane stood slowly and moved around the desk.
“We’re already underway, you can’t get off.”
Lee wondered how long it would take Chip to realise that something was
wrong when he failed to show up in the control room.
“As long as we are on the surface, I can get
off. Now quit stalling,” Emmerson moved
behind Crane, pushing the weapon into his back. “Move!” he demanded.
Walking
to the door, Lee turned the knob to open it. “You won’t get away with this.”
He warned. “Do you honestly believe that you can
get past the entire crew?”
“They won’t interfere as long as I have you for
a hostage,” the crewman replied confidently.
“And don’t try anything, Captain,” he prodded Crane in the back with the
gun by way of a reminder.
It seemed to Lee that it had been a long time
since he had spoken to Chip on the P.A.
Where was everyone? “Look, let me take you to sickbay. Doc will give you something – thing won’t
seem so bad after a few hours sleep. You
look exhausted.” Lee knew that he was probably wasting his time, but so long as
there was a chance of stopping the crewman from making the worst mistake of his
life...
“NO!” Emmerson shouted, shaking his head in
anger. “I should have expected something like this from you,” he gave Lee a
hard shove that sent him stumbling down the corridor.
Lee knew that from the nervousness in his voice
that Emmerson was approaching hysteria. That meant that he was becoming more
dangerous. No matter what happened in
the next few minutes, a disastrous confrontation of some kind was almost
inevitable.
****
Morton descended the ladder from the sail,
pausing at the bottom to remove his jacket and hand it to a waiting
crewman. Turning, he looked toward the
plot table, expecting to see Crane already there, but there was no sign of
him. Frowning slightly, he looked to
Sharkey. “Has Captain Crane been here?”
“No, Sir.”
Unshipping the mike from its mount on the
periscope rail, Morton called Crane. “Captain, this is Morton. We’re proceeding
at one third speed and preparing to dive,” he reported. Getting no answer, Chip looked up at the
speaker, willing Lee to reply to his call. “Lee, come in. Where are you?” Still no reply
“Chip, this is Nelson, is anything wrong down
there?” The Admiral’s voice came over
the speaker instead.
“I can’t raise the Captain, sir,” Morton told
him. “He was supposed to report to the control room. The last time I spoke to him he was in his
cabin.”
There was a moment of silence before Nelson
answered. “All right, Chip – I’ll check on his cabin.”
“Aye, Sir.”
Morton replaced the mike and moved forward to helm control while he
waited for further orders.
****
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Emmerson
grabbed Crane’s around, turning him around. “Back inside”, he ordered, shoving
him back towards the cabin.
Realizing that this was the chance he was going
to get, Crane made a grab for the weapon and they both struggled for possession
of the spear-gun. Emmerson pushed Crane
away and he stumbled back again the door which swung open and he fell back,
landing heavily and banged his head on the metal deck. As he tried to get to his feet, the door
rebounded and caught him on the side of the head. There was a brief paralysing flash of pain
before everything went black and he tumbled into unconsciousness.
For a moment Emmerson stood looking down at the
Captain, panic and indecision held him frozen in place. The footsteps were getting closer. Get out! His instincts screamed. Rolling the unconscious Crane out of the way,
he turned and ran, pulling the door closed behind him.
He had to get out of Officers’ country and find
some place to hide until he could figure out what to do next. As long as Crane was unconscious he could not
tell anyone what had happened. But what
if Crane was badly injured? Skidding
around a corner, he stopped outside a guest cabin and tried the door. To his surprise, it opened and he ducked
inside. Briefly resting back against the
door to catch his breath, he wiped the sweat from his face and looked around
the cabin. Then he noticed the
ventilation grill, he could get to any part of the sub through the ventilation
shafts. Pushing away from the door, he
grabbed a chair and dragged it across to the grill. Using it to reach the grill, he levered it
open, and then pulled himself up into the shaft and closed the grill behind
him.
He had totally lost his bearings. Having only
done one tour of duty on the sub, he didn’t know his way around yet. It was bad enough trying to navigate the
corridors from the crew’s quarters. He
had never been in this part of the sub before, and he had no idea which way was
forward and which aft.
Nelson paused outside of Lee’s cabin door and
knocked. After getting no answer, he
tried again, calling to Lee. When this
resulted in no answer, he began to feel uneasy. He was certain that he had
heard voices as he came down the corridor.
He tried the door and it opened immediately, revealing the unconscious
captain lying on the floor. “Lee!” Nelson dropped to one knee beside the young
man. “Lee, can you her me?” He put a finger to Lee’s throat to check for a
pulse.
“Admiral,” Lee raised a hand to his head.
“Easy, Lad,” Nelson put a comforting hand on
Lee’s shoulder, while he reached for the speaker lying on the floor beside
them. “Sickbay, this is Nelson. Doc, I need you in the Captain’s cabin, on the
double.”
“On my way.” Jamieson acknowledged.
Nelson returned his attention to Lee as he tried
to sit up. “Take it slow,” he cautioned, easing Lee back against the desk.
“Doc’s on his way.”
“I’ll be okay...just give me a minute,” Lee told
him weakly. A hand still pressed to the side of his head.
Nelson doubted that as he scrutinized the
captain. “What happened?” he asked, holding Lee upright against the support of
the desk.
“Emmerson...” Lee turned his head, resting it
against the cold metal of the desk.
“Stay with me, Lee,” Nelson encouraged. Lee
seemed to be drifting, his eyes closed and he slumped sideways. Nelson automatically slipped an arm around
his shoulder and pulled the young captain against him, his head resting on
Nelson’s shoulder.
The clatter of feet on the metal deck signalled
the arrival of Jamieson and a Corpsman, much to Nelson’s relief. Jamieson knelt beside them and gently tilted
Lee’s head up. “Captain, can you hear me?”
“Jamie...” Lee squinted at the doctor through
half closed eyes. “Banged my head.”
“Ummm,” Jamieson commented as he turned Lee’s
head to examine the bruise spreading out from his hairline down the side of his
head. “Hurt anywhere else?”
“Don’t think so...my legs feel funny.”
“Funny how exactly?” The doctor asked, searching
in his bag.
“Sort of like pins and needles.”
Jamieson nodded. “You’ve a significant head
injury. We need to get you to sickbay.”
He said before turning to the corpsman. “Lay down to sickbay. I need a collar and a stretcher.”
“Yes, Doctor.” The corpsman hurried away.
“Will
he be okay, Doc?” Nelson worried. He
knew the score regarding head injuries. Brain surgery was a very skilled
procedure, and in most cases, only as a last resort.
“You never know with a head injury,” the doctor
answered, briefly looking up from his patient.
“I’ll keep him for 24 hours observation.
Provided there is no internal bleeding, he should be fine.”
****
Lying on the examination table in sickbay, Lee
was beginning to regain his senses. Opening his eyes he found Jamieson hovering
over him on one side, and the Admiral on the other.
“Welcome back,” the Admiral smiled.
Lee managed a weak grin. His head was still throbbing, and he knew
that if he tried to move he would probably get dizzy. “Admiral, tell Chip to
send out search parties...”
“Don’t you worry about that. Emmerson will be found and taken care of,”
Nelson interrupted.
“Just relax,” Jamieson told him. Producing an
ophthalmoscope, he leaned closed to examine Lee’s pupil response.
Lee flinched, groaning as the light hurt his
eyes. He turned his head away and tried to push Jamieson’s hand away.
“Sorry, Captain,” Jamieson apologised, looking
across at Nelson. “Definitely a
concussion. I’d be a lot happier if I
could do a C.T scan.”
“I could fly him to hospital in SF1.” Nelson
offered.
“No, I’m all right,” Lee insisted, struggling to
sit up. He’d had head injuries before
and survived. He didn’t want to be flown
to hospital. It was bad enough having to
stay in sickbay for 24 hours.
Jamieson pushed him back. “Stay where you are
and lie still.” He ordered sternly.
“I’ll make the decision around here, Captain.”
“I don’t want to go to hospital. I’ll be fine as
soon as my head stops throbbing.” Lee still argued. “Can’t you just give me some pain killers?”
“How bad is the pain?”
Lee looked at Jamieson, debating just how much
to admit to the doctor. His head wasn’t the only thing troubling him. He was beginning to regain the feeling in his
legs and it felt like someone was sticking pins in him. “Okay, so the headache
is pretty bad, but I’ve had worse,” he lied.
“Okay, I’ll give you a shot, but if things get
worse you’re going to hospital.” The doctor told him firmly as he crossed to
the cabinet to prepare the injection.
“Do
what the doc tells you,” Nelson said, gently squeezing his arm. “I’ll be in my
cabin if you need me, doc.”
Jamieson
nodded to Nelson as he returned with the injection. Baring Lee’s arm, he swabbed it and
administered the drug. “Now let’s get you into a bunk, you’ll be more
comfortable. “Frank, give me a hand.”
Jamieson
helped Lee slide off the table, and he and the Corpsman supported him over to a
bunk. Lee’s legs still would not support
him properly, and he was grateful to collapse into the bunk. “Thanks, doc.”
“Now
rest, Captain. We will see how you are
in a couple of hours. Frank will check
on you every half an hour, so don’t get any ideas about sneaking off.”
****
Eight
hours later Crane woke feeling much better.
His head was clear and he felt much more alert. Propping himself up on one elbow, he looked
around the empty sickbay, wondering where Jamieson was. Sitting up, he swung his legs over the side
of the bunk, but the appearance of Jamieson stopped any further progress.
“Well,
Captain, thought you could sneak off while my back was turned,” he admonished.
“I
don’t know why you are making so much fuss. I’m perfectly all right,” Lee
insisted.
“Sure
you are,” Jamieson answered sarcastically. “Come on, back into bad.”
“I’m
okay, I wasn’t to get up,” Lee grabbed the rail and hauled himself out of the
bunk, ignoring the disapproving look he was getting from the doctor. “See, I’m
fine,” he said with a degree of satisfaction, he hadn’t been totally sure that
his legs would work properly.
“Next
you’ll be wanting to return to duty,” Jamieson shook his head at him.
Lee
started to say something, but Jamieson cut him off.
“You’ll
go to your cabin and rest. We’ll discuss
your returning to duty in the morning.” The doctor finished. Folding his arms
determinedly.
After
a moment, Lee accepted the compromise.
At least you would be out of sickbay. “Okay, doc, I’ll go to my cabin,
but do you mind if I stop by the wardroom first, I’m starving?”
Jamieson
raised an eyebrow. “I guess you are feeling better. By all means, Captain. In fact, as I don’t
have any patients at present, I’ll join you for coffee.”
****
Jamieson
left Crane tucking into a steak, and made his way forward to report to
Morton. He could have used the intercom,
but as he didn’t get a chance to get out of sickbay very often, he took the
opportunity. He might even find out
where they were, he very rarely knew that either.
Morton’s
attention switched from the routine of the control room as soon as Jamieson
stepped through the hatch and he hurried toward him. “What’s wrong, Doc?”
“Don’t
worry,” Jamieson smiled. “I just came to
report that Captain Crane is much better.
He is the wardroom eating steak, and from there he will be going to his
cabin to rest. I will consider his
returning to duty in the morning.”
There
was a faint hint of a smile as the blond took in the news. “Thanks, Doc. I’ll stop by his cabin later and check on him.”
“And
what about you? How are you feeling?”
“I’m
fine, Doc,” Morton replied, caught off guard by the question.
“In
that case, I’m off duty. I’ll be in my
cabin if I’m needed.” With a glance towards the observation nose, which told
him nothing, he retraced his steps back to the hatch.
****
Chip
knocked at Lee’s cabin door. When he got
no reply, he opened the door and stepped inside, glancing around the
cabin. Lee was asleep, slumped over his
desk with his head resting on one arm.
Shaking his head, Chip closed the door and walked over to stand beside
the desk. “Lee?” he reached out and gave him a gently shake.
Gradually
Lee surfaced from his slumber and lifted his head to look up at his exec.
“Chip?” Lee’s expression briefly showed
his confusion before his surroundings registered.
“How
long have you been sitting there?” Chip asked as Lee slumped back in the chair
with a wince, and rubbed his arm.
“I
must have dozed off.”
Glancing
down at the desk, Chip picked up the report that lay open in front of Lee,
giving his captain a disapproving look.
“Don’t
say it, Chip,” Lee said in answer to his unspoken remark. “You know I can’t
stand sitting around doing nothing.”
“Yeah,
I know,” Chip sympathised. “But don’t
let Doc catch you,” he warned, dropping the report back to the desk. The ongoing dispute between Lee and Jamieson
erupted every time Lee was ensconced in sickbay for more than a few hours. It caused Jamieson, Nelson and Morton
considerable worry on those occasions when it was clear that Lee was not all
right, however much he might insist that he was.
“Stop
looking at me like that,” Lee warned sternly.
“Like
what?” Chip asked ingenuously.
“Don’t
come the innocent with me. I bet a
certain doctor had something to do with this visit – checking up on me? I don’t know what all the fuss is about. He didn’t make a big thing of it when you
were in sickbay earlier.” Lee complained.
There
was no use denying it. Lee was not
stupid, and they had known each other a long time. “I wasn’t unconscious as long as you
were,” Chip told him. “Just make sure you follow Doctor’s orders
and get some rest.” Chip warned. “These can wait.” He gathered the papers on
Lee’s desk and dropped them into the draw, closing it firmly.
“Yes,
Sir, Mr Morton,” Lee laughed and stood, pushing the chair back, then abruptly
sat down again.
“Lee! What is it?
Are you okay?” Chip asked anxiously.
“Yes,
Chip – I’m fine. I guess I am tired,”
Lee admitted.
“All
right, come on, bed,” Chip urged, taking his arm to steady him as he got to his
feet. “Can you manage?”
“Yes,
mother, you can stop fussing now”. Lee
joked. “ I can manage. Good night, Chip.” He said firmly.
“Good
night, Lee.” Chip reluctantly turned to
leave.
****
In
his hiding place amid the miles of ventilation ducts that ran throughout the
boat, Emmerson waited for an opportunity to get to the Captain. He would never have been able to get to near
him while he was in sickbay. Now that he
had returned to his cabin, however, it should be easy, provided he wait until
everyone was asleep. He had heard Morton
leave, and hopefully there wouldn’t be any other interruptions.
Once
he was sure that his immediate surroundings where deserted, Emmerson quietly
opened the grille and slipped down into the corridor adjacent to Crane’s
cabin. His actions to date meant that he
no-longer had any other option. With the
sub being searched, he knew that if they found him, he would be going straight
to the brigg. He intended to force Crane
to take him off Seaview in the flying sub, and this time he would be ready for
any kind of treachery from his erstwhile commanding officer. This time there
would be no mistakes.
Crane
was sleeping soundly and didn’t stir when Emmerson opened the door and
stealthily slipped inside, carefully closing the door behind him. Crossing the room to the bunk, he stood
looking down at Crane for a long moment, trying to figure out how he had
managed to get into this much trouble, when all he had wanted was to set things
straight with Marcia. It was all Crane’s
fault, he though with sudden resentment.
If he’d bothered to care he would have realised how necessary it was
that he be allowed to go and see her.
From what he had heard, the captain had a reputation amongst the female
staff – probably had a woman in every port.
Crane
stirred into sudden wakefulness as he sensed someone standing over him. Sitting up, he recognised the intruder
immediately. “Emmerson, what is the meaning of this?” he growled
“You’re
going to fly me back to Santa Barbara in the Flying Sub,” Emmerson told him
coldly.
“You’re
crazy. You don’t know what you’re
doing,” Crane told him, his hand searching under the pillow for the gun he had
placed there earlier.
“Don’t
try anything, Captain, or I’ll shoot,” the crewman threatened, aiming the spear
gun at him. “Get up,” he ordered, taking a cautious step back to stay out of
range.
Crane
obeyed reluctantly. He was in no doubt that Emmerson would carry out that
threat. “Shooting me won’t get you
anywhere”, he told him as he threw back the covers and lowered his feet to the
cold metal of the deck. “Can I get dressed?” he asked with annoyance. He was not pleased at being woken up by some
crazy crewman making insane demands at – Lee looked at his watch and was
surprised to find that he had only been asleep for a short time.
****
Morton
had handed over to O’Brien, with instructions for him to call if there were any
problems. After having a meal in the
wardroom, he made his way to his cabin. Opening the door, he paused as he noticed that
there was a light showing beneath Lee’s door.
Ready to read his friend the riot act for not following doctor’s orders,
he closed his own door and continued down the corridor to Lee’s cabin. Not wanting to give Lee the chance to hide
anything, he opened the door, “Lee, I thought...”
Emmerson
swung around to face him, turning his weapon on Chip. This gave Lee the chance he had been waiting
for. Grabbing the crewman, he swung him
around, aiming a punch at his jaw that sent the crewman reeling back against
the desk, the spear gun flying from his grip.
Crane advanced on the crewman, intending to finish the matter this time.
“I have had it with you,” he growled as he grabbed the man by the collar. Emmerson’s hand found the lamp and he picked
it up, swinging it at Crane’s head. Pain
exploded in Lee’s head as the lamp struck and he staggered back.
Morton
was already moving. “Hold it!” he yelled as Emmerson closed on Lee. Tackling the crewman from behind, he slammed
him into the open door, then pulled him around and landed a hard punch to the
crewman’s stomach. Emmerson groaned,
folding from the punch and Chip caught him with an uppercut to the jaw. The man crumpled into a heap as Chip ignored
him, turning his attention to Lee. “Are
you all right, Lee?” he asked, stepping over Emmerson to move to Lee’s side,
who had fallen to his knees from the blow.
The
Captain retrieved the spear gun from the deck and using the desk for support,
got unsteadily to his feet. “Yes, I’m fine, thanks, Chip.” Raising a hand to his head, Lee slumped into
the chair.
“Are
you sure you don’t want doc to take a look at you?” Chip asked taking a step
forward.
“No,
it’s just a bump. I’ll be fine,” Lee assured him. “Get him out of here,” Lee nodded towards the
crewman who was beginning to stir.
“With
pleasure,” Morton hauled the man to his
feet and shoved him ahead of him into the corridor.
As
Chip closed the cabin door, Lee headed for the bathroom. He soaked a towel in
cold water, rung it out and applied it to the side of his head. His head hurt more than he had been willing
to admit to Chip. He didn’t want to end
up back in Sickbay. Returning to the
cabin, he stretched out on the bunk, cautiously lowering his head to the
pillow. Closing his eyes, he tried to
relax. It had been a tough day, and now
that he was awake, he really wasn’t tired, but the throbbing in his head
persuaded him to stay where he was.
****
Lee
skipped breakfast, he wasn’t hungry, and he didn’t want to deal with the
inevitable well meaning questions from his friends regarding his health, added
to which he was trying to stay out of Jamieson’s way. He knew that the doctor would not pass him
fit for duty if he got so much as a hint that he was feeling as bad as he
did. Of course he could not avoid Chip;
he was due on watch any minute. The relief
watch were arriving, and he turned his attention to the entry that O’Brien had
made in the log before going off duty.
In truth he had no idea where they were, or where they were going. He didn’t even remember leaving port.
“Lee,
what are you doing here? Did Doc clear
you for duty?” Chip asked as he joined Lee at the chart table.
“I
haven’t seen Doc, but I’m fine,” he answered abruptly, hoping that Chip would
take the hint and not pursue the matter.
Closing the log, he returned it to the shelf under the plot table, and
moved forward to helm control on the pretence of checking their heading. The soft ping of the sonar sounded unusually
loud, as did every sound in the control room.
Amplified, the resulting cacophony seemed to echo and roar through his
head. He’d woken with the same headache
that had accompanied him into sleep. It
was probably the result of being struck by Emmerson in the same place as the
door had caught him. Feeling dizzy and a
little nauseous, he walked towards the observation nose and leant both hands on
the access hatch rail, closing his eyes against the light that hurt his eyes.
He
wasn’t really surprised when a hand touched his arm. “Lee, is something wrong?”
Chip asked with concern.
Lee
forced himself to release the grip on the rail and straightened to face
Chip. He swayed as his vision blurred as
he shook his head in answer, and he almost lost his balance. He would have fallen if Chip had not grabbed
his arm to steady him.
“What
is it? Are you sick?”
“No,
I’m fine, it’s just a headache,” pulling free of Chip’s hold, he turned back to
the control room. He wanted to retreat
to the security of his cabin, away from the noise and lights, and all the
well-meant fussing from everyone. Chip
didn’t believe him, that much was obvious, but he evidently has chosen to wait
until later, when they were alone and could talk in private. Lee sighed as he returned to the plot table.
How long would it be before Jamieson turned up looking for him? Lee glanced surreptitiously across to where
Chip stood, debating whether or not to talk to him. The two of them had been friends since the
Academy and Chip always knew when something was wrong, much to Lee’s annoyance,
he couldn’t hide anything from the blond.
****
Chip
knew that something was wrong with Lee.
He had been watching him closely since he came on duty. Lee appeared
tense and irritable, and seemed to be deliberately avoiding him. The crew had obviously noticed too. The control room was unusually quiet, and on
more than one occasion he had noticed the men eyeing the Captain speculatively
as he passed them. Kowalski, who had
served aboard since the sub’s launch, knew Crane well, and he’d clearly noticed
something. He was turned to Murphy, seated next to him. Chip was about to intervene, when Lee glared
in their direction, and strode across to the sonar station.
“Kowalski! What are you doing? You’re attention should be focused on that
screen at all times, is that clear?” he yelled at the rating.
“Yes,
Sir,” Kowalski replied, clearly taken aback by the unexpected reprimand from
his captain.
Chip
took a deep breath and composed his features, careful to hide his concern as he
interrupted. “What’s the problem?”
Lee
gave him a quick glance, and then turned back to Kowalski. “All right, get back
to work,” he ordered.
“Aye,
Sir.”
Chip
watched his friend as he lowered his gaze to the deck and walked away, again
avoiding Chip, not giving him the chance to ask questions. Determined to find out what was going on with
Lee, Chip followed him to the plot table. “Lee, are you okay?”
Lee
looked up, meeting his gaze. “Of course I am, why?”
Chip
shrugged casually. “You’re quiet and seem a little edgy,” Chip said, choosing
his words carefully.
“Don’t
be ridiculous. There’s nothing wrong
with me,” Lee replied, switching his attention back to the charts.
“Lee?”
Chip persisted.
Lee
looked up, glaring at him. “I said I’m a right, now leave me alone!” he
growled, then quickly turned away.
They
both turned as Nelson entered the control room.
****
Nelson
sensed the charged atmosphere of the control room as he entered. He couldn’t see Lee’s face at this angle, but
from the way Chip was looking at his captain, something was obviously amiss.
Bracing
himself, Nelson approached the two officers. “Chip, is everything all right?”
he enquired as he drew level with the exec.
“Yes,
Admiral. All quiet.”
“Uh-huh,”
Nelson looked across at Lee, how appeared to be absorbed in the charts. “Lee?”
“Admiral,”
Lee answered, looking up.
“Lee,
is something wrong?” Nelson asked, noticing the way Lee ducked his head as if
trying to escape the light.
“No,
nothing – just a headache.”
“Have
you seen Doc this morning?” Nelson asked with growing suspicion that Lee was
still on the sick list
“No.”
Lee muttered as he lowered his gaze.
“Well
you had better go and see him now,” Nelson said firmly.
“I
will, Admiral. As soon as I go off
watch.”
You’re probably not
supposed to be on watch. Nelson though silently. “No, Lee – now,” he
gestured towards the aft hatch. “Or do I have to make it an order, Captain?” he
threatened, knowing how stubborn Lee could be.
“Go
ahead, Lee.” Morton injected. “I’ll look after things here.”
Lee
looked from one to the other and sighed. “All right, I’m going.”
Nelson
could not help smiling as he watched the indignant young Captain turn and walk
away.
****
Crane
sat perched on the examination table watching Jamieson take a bottle of pills
from the drugs cabinet. Shaking two into
his palm, Jamieson returned the bottle to the cabinet and turned back to face
Crane. “Here, take these,” he ordered.
“What
are they?” Lee asked suspiciously, taking the tablets and offered cup of water.
Jamieson
regarded him disapprovingly. “Don’t worry, they are only analgesics, they won’t
put you to sleep.”
Lee
swallowed the tablets without further argument, then put down the cup and
forced himself to his feet. The bunks
looked so inviting. It would be so easy
to lie down and shut out the world for a few hours forgetting his responsibilities
as captain while he slept.
“Is
there something I can do for you, Captain?” Jamieson asked.
“No,
doc.” Realising that the doctor had been watching him with more than a little
professional interest, Lee made for the door.
“Just
a minute, Lee,” Jamieson called. “Where
do you think you are going?”
Lee
halted at the door and turned back to Jamieson. “I have to get back to the
control room.” He was anxious to get away before the good doctor had a chance
to ask more questions.
“I
didn’t clear you for duty. You will go
to your cabin and rest, or I will confine you to sickbay.” The doctor told him
firmly.
“But,
doc...” Lee tried to argue.
“Captain!”
Jamieson said sharply, bring a halt to Lee’s protests. “Since you chose to
ignore my orders to report to me this morning, and that probably means that
there is something you are hiding, you will follow my orders or I will relieve
you of command.”
“You
wouldn’t dare,” Lee challenged, angry at having his command threatened. It felt
as if everyone was ganging up on him.
“All
right, Lee, calm down,” Jamieson soothed frowning with concern.
Lee
sighed heavily and rubbed the side of his head. “Sorry, doc – it’s this damn
headache.”
Jamieson’s
expression lightened into a smile. “Like I said, Captain, you need to rest.”
Lee
considered his options. If he did not
follow Jamieson’s orders, he would soon find himself in trouble with Nelson.
“Okay, doc, I’ll go to my cabin,” he conceded reluctantly. He was sure that after a few hours sleep he
would be okay.
****
Returning
to the control room that afternoon, Lee could tell that Chip was not happy
about it.
“Lee,
what are you doing back here? Aren’t you
supposed to be resting”? Chip asked.
“It
was nothing, just a headache, like I told you.
I’m fine now,” he lied. In fact
he still had the headache, but it was not so bad now. “What’s our status,
Chip?” he asked in an attempt to divert Chip from the subject of his health.
Chip
handed him a report. “Proceeding on course at standard speed.”
They
both looked forward as Nelson came down the stairs. He smiled as he saw Lee. “Feel better, Lee?”
“Yes,
thanks you, Admiral,” Lee smiled and quickly returned his attention to the
report.
He
didn’t see Nelson look questioningly at Chip, and Chip shake his head in silent
answer.
Lee
signed the report and placed it on the plot table before moving off to check
the control room. He paused behind
Kowalski at the sonar station. “Anything, Ski?” he asked, looking at the screen
over the man’s shoulder.
“Nothing,
Sir – the screen is clear,” Kowalski reported.
He
could hear the tension in the crewman’s voice.
He should not have yelled at him earlier. Kowalski was a loyal and valued member of the
crew, whom Lee had come to rely on to accompany him on many missions ashore. He
put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Carry on.”
Once again he was distracted by the pain hammering in his skull and he
moved on, carefully massaging his temple.
Crossing
to the AMRAK computer, he pressed the button and studied the readout for a few
minutes. He could feel Nelson watching
him, and he took the time to compose himself before returning to the plot
table. Why couldn’t Nelson just leave
him to do his job? He thought with growing annoyance.
“Are
you sure you’re okay, Lee?” Nelson asked as he rejoined the two men at the plot
table.
“Yes,
Admiral, why do you ask?” Lee replied
calmly, fighting back the urge to snap at Nelson.
“I
don’t think you are all right, Lee. I
know that headache is still troubling you,” Nelson persisted. “Did doc clear
you for duty?”
“No,
he didn’t, but I’m fine,” he snapped, aware that some of the crew had turned in
their direction.
“Lee,
I’m ordering you back to sickbay,” Nelson said gently.
“I
said I’m fine! Will you all stop fussing
and LEAVE ME ALONE!” Knowing that he was
losing control, Lee turned to walk away.
Nelson
put a restraining hand on his arm. “Lee, I said that’s an order,” he insisted
quietly.
Something
snapped into Lee’s head, he spun round, a hand raised to strike Nelson, but he
stopped short, overcoming the rage driven impulse to lash out at the older man.
Nelson
stared, speechless as he backed off a step. “All right, Lee. Let’s talk in my
cabin,” he suggested.
Lee
also stood frozen in shock at his behaviour towards Nelson. What was wrong with him? Was he losing his mind? “I’m sorry,
Admiral...I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he apologised shakily. He took a deep breath, trying to regain his
self-control.
“That’s
all right, Lee. You’re obviously not well.
Let me take you to see doc,” Nelson coaxed gently, taking hold of Lee’s
arm.
Lee
hesitated briefly, before nodding agreement.
He was too embarrassed to look at Chip. “Mr Morton, you have the con.”
****
In
the brig, Emmerson lay on the bunk, planning his escape. It was no longer enough to jump ship, he
wanted revenge on Crane. This was all
his fault; if the Captain had let him go when he had first gone to him, none of
this would have happened. The sound of
approaching footsteps in the corridor alerted him and he sat up, anticipating
that this could be the chance he was waiting for.
“Stay
back from the door,” crewman Taylor ordered as he put the key in the lock and
opened the door. Taylor bent to pick up
the empty tray that Emmerson had deliberately placed on the floor. He struck before Taylor knew what was
happening. With his hands clasped
together, he drove down with all the force he could muster and the crewman
sprawled; face down on the deck, unconscious.
Emmerson
dragged the unconscious man into the brig and locked him in before setting off
down the corridor in search of a gun.
He’d need a gun if he was going to force his way off the boat, and if
Crane was shot in the process... well, he’d caused him enough problems. Crane deserved to suffer after all the grief
he’d caused.
****
A
crashing sound from sickbay brought Jamieson from his office to
investigate. Crane staggered from his
bunk, wild with delirium. He lashed out
at the doctor as he approached and he was almost knocked to the deck, saved
only by his impact against the examination table.”Lee, calm down, it’s all
right,” he soothed, trying to calm his patient.
“Noo!
Stay away from me,” Crane moaned, he was beyond reason. He didn’t even appear to recognise
Jamieson. Seizing a gurney, he rammed it
towards the doctor. Jamieson caught and
deflected it, stopping it from doing any real damage, and it rolled away to
come to rest against the bulkhead.
“Lee,
it’s Jamie, you’re safe now,” Jamieson said softly, reaching out to Crane. “Let
me help you.” Crane groaned, holding his
head and Jamieson moved quickly, grabbing him. “Lee.”
Crane
raised his head, his honey gold eyes looked around in confusion, but they were
unfocused and edged with fear. “Chip...?” Lee whispered.
“No,
Lee – it’s Jamie. You’re in sickbay. Come on, let’s get you back to bed,” he
coaxed, gently leading Crane back to the bunk.
But
Lee was too far gone, wrestling with whatever nightmare he was re-living.
“Nooo, get away from me!” he groaned, pulling away from Jamieson with amazing
strength and continued to back away until he was against the metal wall.
“All
right, Lee – take it easy,” Keeping one eye on his patient, Jamieson reached
for the mike and took it from the bracket on the wall. “Admiral, this is sickbay,” he called
urgently; hoping that Nelson would be able to get through to the captain.
“Yes,
Doc – go ahead,” Nelson answered promptly.
“Harry,
you had better get down here, fast.” Jamieson knew that using his first name
would be enough to know that it was serious.
“On
my way.” Nelson acknowledged.
Replacing
the mike, the doctor returned his full attention to his captain. “Lee, come on,
calm down,” he edged closer, speaking gently to try and coax Lee out, “It’s
okay, everything is going to be all right.”
“No,
leave me alone!” He recoiled from
Jamieson like a wounded animal, his face creasing with pain.
Jamieson
reached out to him. “I can help you,” he repeated gently. He wasn’t a specialist in this field, but he
knew that Lee needed help.
Clearly
afraid and in pain, Lee hit out at him with the first thing that came to hand,
and he went down under the wild attack.
Jamieson
was just getting to his feet when Nelson arrived.
“What’s
the...?” Nelson’s question trailed off as he took in the scene of disarray.
“What happened? Where’s Lee?” he
demanded.
“He
just went crazy,” Jamieson replied, gesturing around the room at the wreckage.
“Well,
we’d better find him.” Nelson said grimly, reaching for the mike on the wall
and calling the control room.
****
In
the nightmare that was controlling his mind, Lee wasn’t going to let these,
however, or whatever they were, take control of Seaview. He stopped at his cabin to get his gun, before
proceeding to the circuitry room. He
needed a distraction while he got to the control room. He’d just managed to avoid one of them as he
made his escape from sickbay. He would
have to be careful; they would be looking for him. He’d heard the call over the intercom, but he
knew Seaview better than anyone. Where
were his crew? He wondered. He couldn’t
remember what had happened. The pain in his head made it difficult to concentrate;
what had they done to him? He didn’t
dare use the P.A to try and raise anyone.
There
were two of the imposters on duty in the control room when he arrived, but he
soon took care of them, having the element of surprise. After dragging them out
of sight behind a consol, the pain in his head forced him to stop and wait until
he could function again before he returned to study the circuits. He didn’t want to do any real damage, just
enough for a distraction. He looked
around for something to short out the circuits; there was a tool locker in the
corner. He rummaged for a minute until
he found what he was looking for, a pair of rubber handled wire strippers.
****
In
the control room, Chip looked up as the lights faded, flickered several times
before returning to a steady glow. What was that? He took the mike from its clip and called the
circuitry room, but there was no answer.
Frowning, he turned “Chief, get down to the circuitry room and see
what’s going on down there,” he ordered.
“Aye,
Sir.”
As
the Chief hastened towards the aft hatch, the lights dimmed again, threatening
failure and Chip glanced up at the overhead.
Any problems with the circuitry could lead to major problems for a
submarine, and he debated whether to give the order to surface. He was also worried about Lee since Nelson’s
call to say that he was missing after attacking the doctor. He had search parties looking for the
Captain, but Lee was more than capable of eluding them.
“Mr
Morton, what’s going on?” Nelson’s voice came over the speaker.
Again
Chip took the mike from its clip. “Admiral, there seems to be a problem in the
circuitry room. I can’t raise the duty
watch. I’ve sent Chief Sharkey to investigate.”
“Very
well, I’ll check it out.” Nelson answered.
“Ten
degree up bubble, blow ballast,” Morton ordered. “Make depth ninety feet.”
“Ten
degree up bubble, aye.”
****
Crouched
at the top of the stairs, Lee watched the activity in the control room,
waiting. He had rigged a time delay to
blow the circuits and knock out the lights.
That should give me a few seconds before the emergency lights came on to
get down to the control room unseen. He
heard the acknowledgement that they were at ninety feet, and Morton turned to
the periscope, then the lights went out.
There
was just enough light from the observation windows to allow Lee to scramble
down the stairs and approach the chart table just as the emergency lights came
on.
Kowalski,
catching sight of the gun, called a warning to Morton, who turned from the
periscope. “Lee, what are you doing?
What’s the gun for?” His blue eyes narrowing as he scrutinised his C.O.
“Stay
where you are,” Lee ordered. “And keep your hands where I can see them.” He
took a few steps closer so that he could see the charts, but he could not
remember where they were supposed to be.
Why couldn’t he remember?
“Lee,
put down the gun,” Chip said calmly.
“Shut
up!” Lee yelled at him. He was having
enough trouble trying to concentrate, without them trying to distract him. “Who
are you? How did you get aboard?” he
demanded.
“Lee,
don’t you know me, it’s Chip.”
Lee
shook his head. “You’re not Chip.” His
gaze swept the control room for any sign of movement, he wasn’t about to let
them catch him unawares. “The rest of you stay where you are,” he warned. But what could he do on his own? His fogged mind desperately searched for a
solution. He had to find a way of taking
back control of the Seaview, and quickly; he felt sick and his head felt like
some-one was using it as a drum, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep
going.
“Lee,
please – put down the gun,” Morton said calmly. “No-one wants to hurt you.”
“No,
I won’t let you take Seaview.” At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Lee
swung around, almost losing his balance. “You, you’re behind all this,” he
growled at Emmerson, levelling the gun on the stunned crewman, who immediately
raised his hands in surrender. Before
Lee could do anything, he was tackled from behind, he struggled to free
himself, but he was too weak and he was wrestled to the deck, the gun falling
from his grip.
“Lee,
calm down. It’s okay.” The voice of his
exec soothed as strong hands held him firmly.
“Lee, take it easy.”
He
tried to twist free, but the effort took the last of his strength and he felt
himself slipping into darkness.
****
In
the circuitry room Sharkey came up onto his knees, rubbing the back of his head
as a hand on his arm urged him to his feet.
“Chief,
what happened? Nelson asked.
“I
don’t know, Admiral, some one hit me,” the Chief grimaced as he regained his
feet.
“Did
you see who it was?”
“No,
Sir – but I sure have a score to settle when I catch up with whoever was
responsible.” Sharkey replied angrily.
Nelson
couldn’t help smiling. “You’d better let Doc take a look at you. I’ll see what I can do about getting the
lights back on,” he continued as he steered the Chief towards the door.
“Aye,
Sir.”
Nelson
watched Sharkey disappear out of the door and was about to turn his attention
to the repairs, when he heard the call over the intercom for the doctor to
report to the control room. “Control
room, this is Nelson, what’s wrong up there?” he called from the nearest
mike. Getting no answer, he clicked the
mike to clear it before making another call. “Duty electrician report to the
circuitry room, on the double,” he ordered, and then returning the mike to its
clip, he headed for the control room to find out why he had gotten no answer to
his call.
****
With
everyone’s attention focused on Crane, Emmerson quickly snatched up the gun
from where it had fallen. Not quite
believing his luck at this turn of events.
He took a step back, watching the Exec holding the limp body of
Crane. Several of the crew had gathered
around in concern for their Captain, although Emmerson could not understand
why.
They
moved aside as Jamieson arrived, and Morton caught site of Emmerson. He stared at the crewman.
“Stand
down, Emmerson.”
Emmerson
shook his head, “You’re going to fly me to Santa Barbara.”
Morton’s
blue eyes bore into him. “The only place you’re going is back to the brig.”
“If
you don’t do as I say, I’ll kill him,” he waved the gun at Crane.
“If
you shoot Captain Crane, I will have you shot for mutiny,” Morton’s voice was
cold with anger and contempt that he didn’t bother to hide.
The
doctor, who had paused beside the plot table, moved around and knelt in front
of Crane and Morton; ignoring the threat from the crewman, to tend to his
patient.
“Emmerson? What the devil! Put down that gun,” Nelson
bristled as he entered the control room, glancing briefly to where Jamieson
knelt tending his patient, before once more focusing his attention on Emmerson.
The
atmosphere in the control room was thick with tension as Nelson advanced on
Emmerson. “If you’re going to use that, you’d better do it now,” he snarled,
his eyes blazing, his famous temper on a very short leash.
Emmerson
hesitated, taking another step back. The
Admiral was a formidable adversary, and he knew that if he shot Nelson, he
would probably be thrown overboard.
Reluctantly he lowered the gun. “I don’t want to shoot anyone,
Admiral. I just want off this boat.”
“Oh,
don’t worry, you’ll be off this boat alright,” Nelson took the gun. “Get him
out of here, and this time, make sure he stays put.” Handing the gun to
Kowalski, he switched his attention to Lee. “How is he, doc?”
Jamieson
looked up. “I want him in hospital, Admiral.
He needs a C.T scan. I should
have insisted on it before.” He said in self recrimination.
“Don’t
blame yourself, Will. We all know that
Lee is not the easiest of patients,” Nelson sympathised. “Chip, prepare the flying sub. I’ll fly him back to Santa Barbara.”
“Aye,
Sir,” Carefully handing Lee over to the Admiral, Chip stood and hurried forward
to the flying sub access hatch.
“Will
he be all right?” Nelson asked anxiously.
Jamieson
eyed him consideringly. “I don’t like to make promises that I can’t keep. But
you know Lee – he’s a fighter.”
Nelson
nodded. He knew that Jamieson would not
let himself be pinned down to specifics. “Damn young fool. Why does he do it?” Nelson said, thinking
aloud.
“I
wish I knew the answer, Admiral.”
Jamieson replied, glancing up from monitoring the Captain’s vitals.
Lee
hadn’t stirred since Nelson had arrived; even when Chip had transferred his limp
body to Nelson’s care. “Should we get him to sickbay?”
Jamieson
shook his head. “Best not to move him
too much. I can treat him here while we
wait for the flying sub. I’ll have Frank
load what I need for the flight.”
There
was any doubt in Nelson’s mind about Jamieson accompanying him on the
flight. Lee might be stable now, but if
he had a bleed in the brain, he could slip into coma any minute. Nelson pulled Lee closer. “Hang on, Lad.”
****
Morton
straightened from dogging the hatch behind Nelson, and switched his attention
to the observation ports in the nose as the Flying Sub dropped free and headed
for the surface. He watched for a
moment, until she disappeared from view, before walking back to the plot
table. Focusing on finishing their mission
would give him something besides Lee to think about. Sparks had called the Medical Centre to alert
them of Lee’s condition, and the trauma team would be on standby. Kowalski and Jamieson would return in FS1 as
soon as Lee had been settled into the hospital.
Although hopefully the doctor’s skills would not be needed any more this
trip.
Turning
from the plot table, he started a round of the control room. Patterson had replaced Kowalski at the sonar
station, and Riley was at the Fathometer.
While they had been dealing with the emergency, the problem with the
lights had been repaired and Chief Sharkey had returned to his station at the
vertical plot table. “You all right, Chief?” Chip asked.
“Fine,
Sir,” the Chief smiled.
“Carry
on,” Chip continued with his circuit of the control room, he paused at the
computer to check their position with the satellite, before moving on to helm
control and finally back to the plot table to check the readout again the
course plotted on the charts. Satisfied
that they were on course, he pulled the mike free from its clip. “Engine room,
all ahead full,” he ordered. He wanted
to get the supplies delivered and get back to Santa Barbara as soon as
possible.
“All
ahead full, aye,” the voice of Murphy came over the speaker.
He
felt the thrum of the engines increase as Seaview picked up speed, cutting
through the water with ease. While
things were quiet, he decided to go below to check on Emmerson and make sure
that he was secure. He didn’t want any
further trouble from the rating. In
other circumstances, Chip would have been more than happy to have the crewman
removed from the boat in SF.1. “Mr O’Brien, you have the con. I’m going to check on Emmerson.”
“Aye,
Sir.”
****
Nelson
sat beside Lee’s bed in the Med Bay.
Their arrival had triggered a flurry of activity. Lee had been rushed into X-ray for a scan;
thankfully he had not needed surgery. Although
there had been a small bleed, it had stopped and the doctor had said that Lee
should regain consciousness soon, and they were not expecting any
complications.
“Admiral?”
It
was little more than a whisper, but it was music to Nelson’s ears. “Lee, you’re
awake,” he smiled, getting to his feet.
“Yeah,
so I am,” Lee smiled weakly; his honey gold eyes regarded Nelson. “Where am I?”
he asked, trying to sit up.
Nelson
put a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy. You’re in Santa Barbara. I flew you back in SF.1.”
“Seaview?”
“Seaview
will be back in a few days. You need to
rest, you have a serious concussion,” Nelson said firmly. He knew that Lee would not be happy that
Seaview was continuing without him. In
Lee’s eyes, nothing was more important than his boat.
Lee’s
face went blank for a second before he frowned.
“What
it is, Lee?”
“I’m
not sure...it’s all mixed up,” Lee admitted. “It’s like a dream...I can’t
remember.”
Nelson
squeezed his arm. “Give it time, it’ll sort itself out,” he assured him. Lee was going to be embarrassed as hell when
he found out what he’d done.
Lee
nodded and closed his eyes.
It
had been a long day, but Nelson was not ready to leave just yet. Lee was more than captain of Seaview, he was
a friend who Nelson thought of as the son he’d never had. He had never told Lee how he felt; somehow
rank always got in the way. What really
frightened him was that one day it would be too late.
It
occurred to him that he should tell the doctor that Lee was awake; they would
want to check him over, but Lee seemed coherent and he hated having people fuss
over him, especially doctors he didn’t know.
Jamieson had returned to Seaview with Kowalski as soon as they were sure
that Lee would be all right. But if he
didn’t want to suffer any long term effects it was important that he rest. He would be in Med Bay for forty-eight hours,
then Nelson had promised to have him stay at his penthouse apartment and make
sure he was looked after for as long as necessary. Of course Lee would not be happy about it, he
was fiercely independent, but it was for his own good. Returning to the chair, he sat down to resume
his vigil at the young captain’s beside until he was thrown out.
****
Two
weeks later, with Seaview floating serenely in her dock at the institute,
Nelson accompanied Lee on a visit to Seaview.
Lee had been climbing the walls with boredom, so Nelson had relented and
let him come to see that his boat was safely home.
“Captain
coming aboard,” O’Brien announced as Lee descended the conning ladder, closely
followed by Nelson.
“Lee,
welcome aboard,” Chip Morton greeted him, clearly relieved to see him back on
his feet.
“Thanks,
Chip,” Lee smiled, “It’s good to be back.”
Nelson
observed that Chip was staying close, ready to lend support. But it wasn’t
needed, Lee was relaxed and happy now that he was back aboard his precious
boat. Nelson smiled; His boat. Lee was as protective of Seaview as Nelson
was. “She’s all yours, Lee – I’m going ashore,” Nelson said, giving him a pat
on the back. He watched for a moment as
Lee disappeared, swamped by the Control Room crew as they gathered round to
greet their Captain. Crane was back in
his rightful place and all was as it should be.
Nelson
turned to the stairs, still smiling as Chip headed into the fray, clearly
deciding that it was time he rescued his Captain.
*end*
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