The Captain’s
Mission by Pauline
Foreword: My first monster story, sort of. A big thank you to everyone that
helped on this story, especially to Diane for keeping me on track. Although this story is for Storms picture
contest, I cannot take full credit.
The sound of
‘Jingle Bell Rock’ accompanied Lee Crane as he made his way to the
wardroom. They were 24 hours away from
Entering the
wardroom Lee was greeted by the smell of Pumpkin
Pie and cinnamon rolls. The room had
been decorated with garlands and a small Christmas tree. Even Cookie was wearing a red fur trimmed
Santa hat.
Lee wasn’t very
hungry; he seemed to have been eating all day.
A selection of nibbles kept appearing in the nose throughout the day and
he had found it especially hard to resist the chocolate chip shortbread cookies. He knew that he should try to balance it by
eating something healthy. He considered
the roast beef, mashed potatoes and green vegetables, but he couldn’t stomach that
amount of food. He grabbed a banana and
an apple and after pouring himself a cup of coffee, Lee joined Nelson and
Morton who were already seated at one of the tables. “Evening, Admiral.”
“Evening,
Lee.” Nelson looked at Lee’s tray and
frowned.
Lee wondered if
it would have been easier to avoid the wardroom and just gone to his
cabin. Lee crunched into his apple,
ignoring the looks he knew he was getting from Jamie and Chip. Just because he didn’t have a bottomless pit
for a stomach didn’t mean that he wasn’t eating enough; he ate when he was
hungry. “I’ve been eating all day,” he
finally defended his lack of appetite.
***
Lee stood
beside Chip in the control room as the last of the crew departed; they would
all meet up again for the annual Christmas party before going their separate
ways for the holidays. The men’s mood
was even more exuberant now than ever as they chatted about their plans. Patterson was going on a jungle and beaches
adventure, although Lee would have thought that the man got enough excitement
aboard Seaview. Kowalski, as usual, was
going home to see his family and as for Riley, Lee didn’t want to know what he
had planned for his leave. He just
hoped that he wouldn’t have to bail anyone out after the holiday.
“That just
leaves you, me and the Admiral,” Chip smiled as they watched Kowalski disappear
through the hatch.
“You go ahead,
Chip. I’ll wait for the Admiral,” Lee
knew that Lindsey would be waiting for Chip topside. “I’ll see you at the party.”
“Who is the lucky
lady this year?” Chip asked.
“My social
life’s kind of taken a back seat lately.”
“What, the
institutes most eligible bachelor doesn’t have a date for the Christmas
party?” Chip teased.
“No, and don’t
you go getting any ideas, Mr Morton,” Lee warned. “I can find my own date,” The one person he would have liked to have
asked, Sophie, unfortunately did not live in Santa Barbara, and was probably
off doing something for ONI. Since their
last mission together, he had found himself thinking about her a lot.
“Yes, Sir,”
Chip grinned, handing him the clipboard he was holding.
Lee walked to
the bottom of the ladder with Chip. “Catch you later,” he gave his friend a
departing pat on the arm. Returning to
the plot table, Lee unshipped a mic. “Admiral, it’s Lee, the crew has all gone
ashore,” he reported.
“All right, Lee
– I’ll join you shortly.” Nelson replied.
Lee returned
the mic to its clip and walked forward to watch the activity dockside while he
waited for the Admiral. At least this
cruise he had managed to survive unscathed.
Too many times he’d picked up an injury and spent his leave either in
***
Karen Atkins
stood watching Lee Crane across the room; the man was sinfully gorgeous in his
dress blue uniform. She wasn’t the only
member of the ER staff that thought so, but unlike all those other females that
fantasized about the handsome Captain, tonight she was on a mission. When she usually saw him in the ER, he was
sporting some sort of injury, so tonight it was good to see him whole and in
perfect health.
She was
delighted to see that he did not appear to have a date; she would love to play
nurse with him, in a totally non-professional way. Recently her sex life had been nonexistent,
but that was going to change. However,
she wanted more than a romp between the sheets; she was looking for something
more permanent. Nursing her White
Christmas cocktail that she didn’t really want, she made her way across the
crowded ballroom towards where Crane was talking to Chip Morton and Lindsey
Jamieson. Karen knew Lindsey and it was
the perfect opportunity to break in on the three of them.
“Hey, Karen,”
Lindsey greeted. “Chip, Lee, you know Karen, from the ER?”
“Yes, of
course, good evening,” Lee smiled.
“Commander,
it’s good to see you looking so well,” Karen smiled.
“Thanks,” he
smiled back, lowering long lashes over those honey gold eyes shyly. “If you’ll
excuse me, I have a few...commitments. I hope you enjoy the party,” he nodded to
Chip Morton and turned to leave.
“Isn’t he ever
off duty?” Lindsey commented light heartedly.
“Well, he is
the Captain,” Chip replied as he watched Crane walk away.
“Yeah, and
you’re the Exec but I hope you are not planning on abandoning me?” Lindsey
answered.
“No chance,”
Chip slipped an arm around Lindsey’s waist and pulled her closer. “Why don’t we
find a table?” he suggested.
“Okay,” Lindsey
agreed. “See you later, Karen.”
“Yeah,
sure.” Karen sighed. Damn
it! What did she have to do to get Crane
to notice her? She wandered over to
the buffet and selected some nibbles and then munched them while she watched
Lee Crane circulating. He stopped to
shake hands with someone and chatted briefly before moving on to another group
of people. She knew most of the people
at the party, either from Seaview or from Med Bay.
Lee had made
his way to where Nelson stood talking to Angie and Lola. Karen scowled as she watched them flirting
with Lee. Angie had a date, why did she
have to flirt with Lee? Wasn’t one man enough? She thought irritably.
***
Doctor Theodore
Grosvenor stood watching the young woman across the room, her interest in the
handsome Captain was obvious, as was Crane’s indifference to her. Theo smiled to himself; could he have found
an ally in this young woman? He had been
working for the military, studying the application of hypnosis for military
use. But the experiment with subliminal
messages*, carried out aboard Seaview had ended in disaster when Crane had
actually shot Nelson. He still argued that it had been an
unqualified success. However, the Navy
dropped the program and he had been forced to look for private backing and
treating people for phobias, loosing weight or to stop smoking. There were many applications for hypnosis
and he could do so much more with his skills. In fact, he’d used it tonight, on
the guard to gain entry to the institute.
It amused him to think that if questioned, the only unexpected guest the
guard would remember would be Admiral Johnson, director of ONI. So far no-one had challenged his being there.
Crossing the
room, he approached her. “Can I get you a drink? You don’t seem to be enjoying the one you
have,” he offered, smiling.
Karen glanced
at her still almost full glass. “I don’t
accept drink from strangers.”
“Quite right,
allow me to introduce myself, Doctor Theo Grosvenor.”
Karen looked at
him hesitantly for a moment before answering. “Karen.”
“A pleasure to
meet you, Karen,” he took her hand and kissed it lightly. “Forgive me, but I couldn’t help noticing,
you are interested in the Captain, are you not?”
“What’s it to
you?” she huffed.
Theo again
smiled. “I need your help with a little
test. Why don’t you let me get you that drink and we can talk about it?”
“I don’t know,”
Karen eyes him suspiciously. “What sort of test?
“A
secret test. I work for The Office of
Naval Intelligence.” Or at least I used to. He showed her his
ID.
“Well...all right,
but no funny business,” she warned cautiously.
“I promise.” He
took her arm and led her to the bar. “What can I get you?”
“A cream soda
please.”
Once she had
her drink, he directed her to a table at the edge of the room, where their
conversation was less likely to be overheard.
“Now, Karen, tell me all about Captain Crane.”
***
Karen continued
to watch Lee, moving closer to where he was sitting with the Admiral. He had danced with both Angie and Lola, but
hadn’t even glanced Karen’s way. It wasn’t fair! At the moment the table was unattended as
both men were dancing. Taking the
opportunity, she walked slowly passed, making sure that no-one was watching her,
she slipped something into Lee’s drink.
Theo had promised her that it would not harm Lee, that it was part of
the test. Maybe
the evening wouldn’t be a complete failure after all. She smiled to herself as she recalled her
suggestion to the doctor that he might propose to Lee that he have the Flying
Sub painted red. It was a bit of a
standing joke amongst the admin staff that Lee wanted the Flying Sub painted
the same colour as his red sports car, and what harm could it do? Besides, she was helping her country.
***
Lee suppressed a giggle, he was feeling slightly
drunk as he stepped outside. Funny, I didn’t think I had that much to
drink. After slipping away from the
party, Lee decided that it probably wasn’t a good idea to drive home. He'd spend the night in his cabin aboard Seaview.
“Excuse me, Commander Crane, could I talk to you
for a moment?” A man dressed in a black dinner suit stepped out of the
shrubbery.
“Who are you?” Lee wasn’t so drunk as to let his
guard down, even on Institute grounds.
“I’m Doctor Grosvenor,” the man replied.
“Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.” Lee asked. He didn’t know the man, but he could be an
associate of Nelson’s.
“No, Commander, it is you I want to speak to. Maybe
we could go somewhere and talk over a coffee? You look tired.” The man reached
out and took Lee’s arm, guiding him away from the conference centre.
Lee suddenly did feel tired; maybe coffee would be
a good idea. He stood for a moment debating the issue. There was no way he was taking this man on board
Seaview. “We can go to my office; I'll
make us some coffee and we can talk there.”
Ah, ha... it's
working, Grosvenor
thought.
***
“Take a seat, Doctor." Lee picked up the coffee pot and went to fill
it with water. After putting the coffee on, he joined Grosvenor at the desk.
“Now what’s this all about?”
“I want to help you, Lee. May I call you Lee?”
Crane frowned. “I don’t understand, how do you
think you can help me?”
“Tell me what you want to do, Lee.”
Lee sighed; this was a waste of time. “Look, Doctor,
I’m tired. I don’t have time for this game.”
“That’s just it, Lee. You work too hard, you need to relax and have
some fun. When was the last time you did
something spontaneous?”
“Did Doctor Jamieson ask you to do this?” Lee eyes
narrowed as he regarded Grosvenor with increasing suspicion.
Grosvenor chuckled. “No, Lee, I assure you I have
not spoken to your doctor.”
“Well someone put you up to this. What are you, some sort of shrink?” Lee
started to get to his feet, he’d been enjoying the evening up until now.
“Not exactly, I had been researching the use of
hypnosis for military application.”
“Hypnosis? What does that have to do with me?” Lee
swayed unsteadily as a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. He leaned on the desk to steady himself. Crane
was feeling uncharacteristically wiped out. “I’m sorry, but I think it’s time
for you to leave.” Before Lee realised
what was happening, Grosvenor was on his feet and moved around the desk.
“Why don’t you lay down here, you’ll be more
comfortable,” he took Lee’s arm and led him to the couch.
Even as Lee thought about resisting, his energy
drained away. His legs would no longer support him. He sank down onto the couch. “I’m sorry,
Doctor, I don’t...”
“Lie down and close your eyes for a few minutes,”
Grosvenor’s voice was soothing. “You’ll
feel better when you wake up.”
“Yes,” Lee felt compelled that he had to do as the
man suggested. He stretched out on the couch and closed his eyes.
***
“That’s it, Commander, relax and focus on my voice,” Theo smiled, this was too easy. “All right, Commander, I want you to listen very
carefully. You are going to have the
Flying Submarine painted red – a surprise for Admiral Nelson.”
“Surprise, yes,” Lee smiled.
“That’s right. When you wake up, you
will remember what you have to do, but you will forget all about what I’ve
said, and all about meeting me . I was
never here. Do you understand, Commander?”
“Forget, yes, I understand.” Lee
answered sleepily.
“Good, now you will sleep and when you awake, you will go to Seaview and
carry out my instructions. Do not let
anyone see you, no-one must know.”
“No one must know,” Lee repeated.
“That’s very good, Lee. Sleep
now.” Theo stood and quietly left the
room, pausing at the door to look back at Crane before quietly closing it and
making his way to the stairs.
***
Lee woke, disorientated. Sitting
up, he looked around his office. How had
he gotten here? He couldn’t remember
anything after he had decided to leave the party.
Dropping his head, Crane raked a hand through his hair. There was something he had to do – the Flying Sub...yes, that was it. He looked at his watch, it was almost 0200.
Getting to his feet, he hurried out and headed for Seaview. He’d catch a couple of hours sleep in his
cabin, then take off in FS-1.
He was thankful that he had worn his dark dress
uniform and not his white dinner jacket; it made it easier to hide in the
shadows. Lee’s covert skills made it
easy for him to sneak aboard Seaview without being seen by the skeleton staff
on duty over the holiday. Entering
through the sail hatch, he headed for his cabin, but then changed his
mind. His cabin was the first place they
would look for him.
Backtracking to the
first ladder down, he headed forward through the lower decks to the rear access
to FS-1 – his baby, where hopefully no one would think to look for him.
Entering the Flying sub’s hanger below the control
room, he spun the wheel to open the rear hatch and stepped inside, securing the
hatch behind him. As long as he left the
power off, no-one would know he was down here.
He would bypass the circuits that lit the ECS monitor board in the
control room before he launched FS-1.
Shrugging out of his uniform jacket, Lee looked
around before hanging it on the back of the pilot’s chair. Turning to the bunk, he pulled a blanket out
from the storage locker below and unfolded it. After spreading the blanket over the cold
plastic covered mattress, he climbed onto the bunk and used another blanket to
cover himself. Used to sleeping where
ever and when ever, he was asleep as soon as his eyes closed.
***
Ted Buchanan, owner and director of Avionics & More stood looking at
the yellow craft parked in his hanger.
“I don’t know, Lee. It’s a big
job and we’re breaking for the holiday tomorrow lunchtime. I don’t think we can do it.”
“But it has to be done before the Admiral gets back from holiday,” Lee
insisted.
Ted shook his head as he walked around FS-1. “What’s so urgent about this anyhow?”
“It’s a surprise,” Lee replied.
Ted looked at him. “Who exactly is paying for this surprise?” Not that he didn’t trust Crane, but he was
begining to wonder about this job. If
Nelson hadn’t authorised it... The special paint required didn’t come cheap.
“Please, Ted. You’ll get paid, I
promise.” Lee paused at the rear hatch.
“All right, I’ll see if any of the guys want to work overtime, but I can’t
promise,”
“Thanks, Ted, I owe you,” Lee smiled.
“I’m flying home tomorrow; can I
pick her up on the 31st when I get back?”
“I’ll see what I can do, you’d better call first to make sure she’s
ready,” Ted was already begining to think that he would regret taking on this
job. “Do you need a ride back?”
“No, thanks, I’ve got it covered. Want to help me suit up?”
***
Lee entered Seaview via the pressure well.
The 8 mile swim back to NIMR using one of the sea scooters, standard
equipment aboard Seaview now, left him tired and
hungry. Ted had thought that he was
crazy to swim back, but the scooter had done most of the work. Securing
the scooter, he pulled off the hood and flippers and divested himself of his
airtanks and weightbelt.
Climbing to his feet, Lee picked up the waterproof bag containing his
clothes, after he’d showered and changed he’d be ready to go to the airport. For
now, he checked the corridor. There
shouldn’t be anyone below decks, but he
didn’t want to take the chance of being discovered and having to explain what
he was doing aboard. He smiled to
himself, Nelson was going to be in for a
surprise.
He managed to make it to his cabin without encountering anyone. The metal deck was cold to his bare feet and
by the time he reached his cabin he was feeling chilly. The shower helped warm him up and he quickly
changed into a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, shrugged into his leather jacket
and headed out.
It was daylight now and he didn’t have darkness to assist his escape, so
he used the same mainetance/emergency
tunnel that he had used the very first time he had sneaked aboard Seaview to
aviod the guarded gate. He paused at the
exit, checking before stepping out into the daylight and calmly walking to his
car in the nearly deserted parking lot.
***
30th December
The return flight to Santa Barbara had been fairly boring; he’d read for a
while and had gotten up to stretch his legs a couple of times. It was 1630 when
the plane landed and he was hungry. But it was another two hours driving time
before he could stop and pick up a few groceries before returning to the remote
lighthouse that had become his home.
After he’d finished eating, he went for a walk; he loved the beach at night. The solitute, with only the sound of the
waves breaking on the sand and the magical flurescence of the tiny sea creatures
as they danced in the water. Walking
silently beneath the night sky, a cool breeze ruffled his hair and carressed
his face. He took a deep breath,
breathing in the salt air. He walked for
a way before sitting down on one of the rocks that had been left behind by the
retreating shoreline. It was good to be
back.
He loved his mother and New England would always be his real home, but
this was were he felt he belonged. After
the death of his father, Lee had retreated inside himself. He’d erected barriers, never letting anyone
get too close for fear of getting hurt again.
That was until he’d gone to the academy and met Chip Morton. Chip had gotten under those defenses,
cajoling, badgering, slowly wearing him down, until they had become as close as
brothers.
And then there was Nelson, he smiled. Suddenly he remembered the Flying Sub. He
was supposed to call to see if she was ready.
It was too late now, he’d call first thing in the morning, but would
sneak back aboard Seaview to get an early, and unobserved start should she be
ready.
***
It was as if he was on auto-pilot, Lee snuck down to the pressure chamber,
changed into his diving gear and left via the open well. Again he used the scooter for the swim up the
coast.
He made the return journey in the FS1 submerged so as not to draw
attention and alert anyone that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. He
smiled, would Nelson like his surprise?
***
2nd January.
Lee and Chip stood on Seaview’s deck, watching the last of the stores
being loaded as Admiral Nelson’s car drew up along side. They were not supposed to sail yet, but had
been called back early. It had been a
rush to get Seaview ready and Lee had been out late New Years Eve with friends
and had not had much sleep the last 48 hours.
Lee smiled as Nelson crossed the gangplank and stepped on board.
“All set, Lee?” he asked.
Lee nodded. “Ready whenever you are, Admiral.”
“Get underway as soon as possible,” Nelson ordered before disappearing
through the hatch.
“Aye, Sir.” Lee turned to Chip.
“Single up fore and aft and prepare to get underway.”
“Aye, Sir,” Chip acknowledged.
Lee ducked into the sail hatch and followed Nelson below. Dropping the last few rungs of the ladder, he
joined the Admiral at the plot table, curious to know what their mission was.
Nelson looked up from the charts as Lee approached. “NASA has reported a
giant whirlpool, some four hundred kilometers in diameter, in the Altantic
ocean, just about here,” Nelson placed an x on the chart.
“What could be causing it, Admiral?” Lee asked, studying the chart and making some
mental calculations.
“Could be a number of things, Lee. Water temperature and salinity could be a
factor. Cold water is heavier and so
sinks below warmer water which is lighter, therefore creating a vertical
current. This type of vertical
movement occurs frequently in the tropics because high temperatures lead to the
evaporation of water from the surface. The salt doesn’t evaporate with water,
though. It stays in the ocean, which raises the level of salinity in the upper
layer of water. This layer sinks and gives way to less saltier waters from the
depths. Such vertical movement of water creates giant whirlpools.” Nelson explained.
Lee nodded thoughtfully. “Well, as long as it is a natural phenomenon and
not the work of some alien or other outside involvement.” It would make a pleasant change for Seaview
to be involved with a purely scientific project; although he couldn’t help
feeling uneasy. Or was there something else on his mind that he couldn’t
remember?
Nelson chuckled. “We’ll find out, won’t
we? I’ll be in my cabin. Carry on, Lee.” Still smiling, Nelson put the pencil down and
headed aft.
“All secure, we’re ready to shove off any
time you want to,” Chip
reported as he entered the Control Room.
“Very well, Chip – take her out.” Walking forward, Lee stood in the observation
nose, watching through Seaview’s windows as the sub eased away from the dock.
***
Hours later Chip was more than ready for supper and had
accompanied Crane to the Wardroom. Lee
had been quiet all day and now Chip watched him pushing his food around his
plate and not really eating anything. “A
little early in the cruise to be off your food,” Chip commented.
Lee shrugged and put down his folk. “I’m a little jet
lagged, I guess.” Resting his elbows on
the table, Lee bowed his head into his hands and closed his eyes.
“Hey, you’re not going to fall asleep on me, are
you?” Chip teased.
“Ummm.”
Chip frowned, suddenly concerned; Lee was nearly asleep
at the table. “Lee?” he touched his
friend’s arm.
“Sorry, Chip,” Lee opened his eyes and levered himself
upright. It was obvious to anyone
watching that he was exhausted.
What the hell had Lee been
doing? Surely ONI had not nabbed Lee for an
assignment over the holiday? Nelson
would blow his top. “Why don’t you turn
in?” Chip suggested. If Jamieson came in now, he’d have Lee in
Sickbay so fast, his feet wouldn’t touch the deck.
“Yeah, I think I will,” Lee pushed wearily to
his feet.
“Want me to walk with you?” Chip knew that he was pushing it, but Lee
looked ready to keel over and he would be happier knowing that he’d made it to
his cabin okay.
Lee seemed to recover a little as he
straightened and glowered at Chip. “”I think I can make it to my cabin on my
own.” However, the effort was spoilt by
a yawn that he couldn’t quite stop.
“Chip grinned. “Aye, Sir. Goodnight, Skipper.” He would stop by Lee’s
cabin on the way to his own.
Lee shook his head at him, but grinned. “Good
night, Chip.” Lee shot a sheepish look in the direction of the galley before
making his escape.
***
As part of the regular maintenance routine,
Chip had Sharkey checking out the flying sub.
“Mr Morton, could you come down to here,
please, Sir?” Chief Sharkey called over the P.A.
Chip unshipped a mic. “What is it, Chief?”
“There’s something I think you should see,
Sir,” Sharkey replied.
“I’ll be right there,” Chip returned the mic
to its clip and shrugged at Lee.
Walking forward, Chip climbed down into the
Flying Sub. “What’s the trouble, Chief?”
“I found the Skipper’s wetsuit and scuba gear
down here, Sir,” Sharkey indicated the gear that had been left on the
deck. “At least it’s the one he always uses.
Do you know what’s going on? And how could it have gotten down here
without it being signed out? Even the tanks aren’t the ones we usually keep
down here.”
“I don’t know, Chief,” Chip replied
thoughtfully, remembering how tired Lee had been. WHAT had
Lee been doing? Had he been on some
secret mission while they’d all been away? “All right, Chief, get this geared
stowed away. I’ll look into it,” Chip ordered.
“Yes, Sir.”
What was that all about?” Lee asked when Chip
returned to the control room.
Chip shrugged. “Just some gear left where it wasn’t
supposed to be.”
Lee rubbed his forehead; he was beginning to
get a headache, he again had the feeling that there was something that he
couldn’t remember that he should. Then
there were the blanks, when he’d woken and couldn’t remember what had
happened. It had happened twice, once
after the party and again when he’d woken in his cabin aboard Seaview on New Years
Eve and couldn’t remember how he’d gotten there.
“Are you okay, Lee?” Chip asked, breaking
into his thoughts.
“Yes, I’m fine, Chip,” Lee tried to keep his
voice even. Chip could read him like a
book and he didn’t want to give him any reason to think that there was anything
wrong with him,
because there shouldn’t be. Pushing his
worry aside, Lee moved away to do a circuit of the control room.
“Is there something you want to talk to me about?” Chip asked quietly, when Lee returned to the plot
table.
“Like what?” Lee asked, caught by surprise at
the unexpected question.
“Like why we found your wetsuit and gear discarded in a messy heap in the Flying
Sub?”
Lee shook his head. “What? I don’t remember using it.”
“Lee, if Nelson finds out that you’ve been on an ONI assignment...”
“No, I swear I wasn’t, Chip. And if I was, do you think I’d be stupid
enough to leave my gear lying around!” Agitated, Lee walked forward into the
nose. Had he used the gear? What
the hell was happening to him? Why
couldn’t he remember those blank times in his memory? What was going on?
Crane wasn’t surprised when a few minutes later he felt a
hand on his shoulder.
“Lee, maybe Doc should take a look at you?” Chip
suggested cautiously.
“I’m fine, Chip,” Lee assured him, forcing a smile.
It wasn’t so much that he may have taken an unauthorised
pleasure dive, what was really worrying Crane was if he’d been under some enemy
influence and was a danger to the boat and his crew. Maybe Nelson should relieve
him of command for this mission; after all, it wasn’t as if the mission was
anything vital. Just a curiosity,
really.
The memory of when he’d been kidnapped and brainwashed
would always be with him. He’d tried to
sabotage Seaview and kill Nelson, although he doubted that he could have pulled
the trigger. Still he didn’t want a
repeat of that debacle. It had made Lee
doubt his suitability to continue captaining Seaview, but Nelson’s faith in him
and the support of his friends had helped him put it
behind him and move on.
That had been three years ago and for the
most part, there had been
happy times since. He loved his life,
although there had been tough missions and they had lost crew, they had won out
in the end.
Lee sighed inwardly; it was going to be a long cruise. It would take Seaview another eight days to
reach their destination. Usually he enjoyed being on
his boat, but with this uncertainty hanging over him...
“Lee?”
Startled, Lee was a bit curt. “Take the conn, Chip – I’m
going walkabout.” Maybe a few hours prowling the boat
and talking to the crew would help him relax.
“Aye, Sir,” Chip answered quietly.
***
Although he had not found anything needing
his attention, he had enjoyed talking to the men that he had encountered on his walk through
the boat. Surprised that it was
lunchtime, he became aware that he was actually hungry as he headed for the Wardroom. That should make Chip happy.
After downing a chicken salad roll, fruit, ice cream and a
large chocolate brownie, Lee was on his second cup of coffee and felt so full
he didn’t think that he would want anything else to eat for the rest of the
day.
With coffee mug in hand, Lee took himself off to his
cabin for the afternoon to attack the paperwork that was his lot in life.
It was hours later when a knock on his cabin door broke
into his thoughts. “Come,” he called in answer,
knowing that his visitor was probably Chip Morton, since Lee had foregone
dinner.
“So this is where you’re hiding,” Chip
entered the cabin carrying a tray.
“I am not hiding,” Lee scowled; resting back
in the chair and watching Chip approach the desk.
“Since you didn’t come to dinner, I bought
dinner to you,” Chip put the tray down in front of Lee; ignoring the glare he
was getting from his CO.
“I’m still full from lunch,” Lee grumbled as
he surveyed the tray.
“You know how Cookie gets when you don’t
eat,” Chip told him.
Lee shook his head, mumbling half to himself
that he couldn’t be expected to be hungry when he had been sitting at his desk
all afternoon and hadn’t worked up an appetite.
Chip only smiled and shrugged, but Lee wasn’t
fooled, he knew that the tray had probably been Chip’s idea. Lee decided that he’d better make an effort
to at least eat something to placate his XO.
Although Lee didn’t know why he had been so tired that first day, and again, he
felt like there was something missing.
Like there was something he should remember, but he didn’t know what. While
he ate, Chip filled him in on the boat’s status. Lee was pleased to hear that they had made
good time and were ahead of schedule.
***
Over the next few days’ things settled into a
routine and Lee found himself starting to relax. Maybe his worries had been unfounded. So far nothing untoward had happened. As Captain, he needed to be aware of what was
happening on the boat at all times and to ensure that Seaview was maintained in
top condition. That gave him the excuse
to walk the boat, doing inspections and talking to the crew.
While it was Sharkey’s job to liaise between the
crew and Captain, Lee liked to make himself available to anyone whether they
might have a grievance or wanted to talk about a personal problem. He was a good listener and tried to be fair.
He’d also spent time with Nelson in the lab, discussing
what he wanted when they reached the area of the whirlpool. That couldn’t
happen fast enough for Lee; he was looking forward to getting off the boat for
a while to collect samples. He loved
diving, but they were still a few days away from the area.
This evening he had been in the galley helping to
deal with a problem with the garbage disposal when the Admiral and Jamie came
into the wardroom. After cleaning up,
Lee joined them for dinner.
“Admiral, I’ve been thinking, I could take the
Flying sub out; she could be at the site in a matter of hours. I could do a preliminary survey of the area.”
Nelson smiled at Lee’s apparent enthusiasm.
“Cruise not exciting enough for you Lee?” he teased.
Lee gave him a shy smile. Nelson knew him too well.
“All right, Lee, but be careful. There will be some strong currents around the
area,” Nelson warned.
“Yes, Admiral.”
Lee nodded. “I’ll leave first
thing in the morning.”
“Not first thing, Lee. Make sure you have breakfast first,” Nelson
told him.
Lee gave him a sheepish smile, he knew better than
to argue when Nelson used that tone. “I’ll take Kowalski as co-pilot,” Lee was already
thinking ahead, he enjoyed piloting the Flying sub. Nelson may have designed
her, but she was Lee’s baby.
***
Lee entered the control room, shrugging into his
black leather flying jacket and approached the plot table. “Chip, all stop,
stand by to launch the Flying Sub.”
“Aye, Sir,” Chip unshipped the mic from its clip
on the side of the chart to relay the order. “Engine room, all stop.”
Nelson came down the spiral stairs as Lee walked
forward to the Flying Sub access hatch.
“All set, Lee?”
“Yes, Admiral,” Lee waited while Kowalski bent and
opened the hatch.
“Dead stop, trim satisfactory,” Chip reported,
coming to stand beside the Admiral.
“Very well, Chip – you have the conn,” Lee turned
and started down the ladder into FS-1.
“Keep in touch, and remember, don’t get too close. We don’t want you being pulled into that thing,”
Nelson told him before the hatch was closed.
Everything appeared to be normal as Lee entered
the small craft. He paused at the bottom
of the ladder and looked around. He had that feeling again, that there was
something he should know, but he couldn’t remember. Giving himself a mental shake, Crane secured
the ladder and moved to the pilot seat while Kowalski strapped himself into the
co-pilot seat beside him.
They quickly ran through the pre-light check and
Lee contacted the control room. “Flying Sub ready to launch.”
FS-1 dropped smoothly from her hanger. A disc of
yellow sunlight reflected from the surface to Seaview’s starboard side as he
turned FS.1 to port and headed up and away from Seaview.
“Lee, would you mind explaining how it is the
Flying Sub is a different color?” the Admiral’s voice came over the radio, his
tone upset and confused. "I understand your gear was found in her..."
“Different color?
I’m sorry, Admiral, what are you talking about?”
“Are you telling me that you are not aware that FS-1
has been re-painted red?” Nelson asked with a hint of dis-belief in his voice.
“What? No! Err...why would you think that I would
know anything about that, Admiral?”
Lee suddenly
wondered if this was the something he couldn’t remember.
“Never mind for now, we’ll discuss this when you
get back,” Nelson replied gruffly.
Clearly he was not happy.
“FS-1 out,” Lee broke the connection. The
Flying sub was now Red? He shook his
head in confusion. He was aware of
Kowalski giving him a curious look. He’d
worry about it later, right now he needed to concentrate on their mission.
***
Kowalski
was busy taking photos of the whirlpool as Lee made several passes over the area. Lee had never seen anything quite like it
before and it reminded him of an aeriel
view of a tornado. “Have you got all you
need, Kowalski?” he asked, glancing at the crewman.
“Yes,
Sir. That sure is something.”
Lee
nodded agreement. “Flying Sub to Seaview, come in, please, over.”
“Receiving
you, Lee,” Nelson voice came over the radio.
“We’re
over the whirlpool, Admiral.”
“How’s
it looking, Lee?”
“This
thing is incredible,” Lee replied, almost thinking aloud. “We’ve finished photographing, I’m taking her
down for a closer look.”
“Be
careful, Lee,” Nelson cautioned.
“Yes,
Sir, over and out,” Lee tilted the nose of FS-1 down, making a shallow decent
towards the water. A few minutes later,
FS-1 hit the surface and submerged. Even
outside of the whirlpool, the current was strong enough to affect her. Lee
increased the power in attempt to stop them being pulled into the vortex. “Give me a hand, Kowalski.”
“Yes,
Sir,” Kowaski put down the camera and
took hold of the controls.
“We’ll
follow it down and see how deep it goes.”
“Yes,
Sir.”
They
were nearly at a thousand feet down before the vortex started to diminish and
the water became calmer. However,
visibility was still poor due to the silt and debris being stirred up from the
bottom. “Keep your eyes open, Kowalski,”
Lee ordered as he started a search of the area
“What
are we looking for, Sir?”
“Anything
that doesn’t belong,” Lee wasn’t sure
what he expected to find, Nelson seemed convinced that the whirlpool was a
natural occurance. They spent some time
exploring the area, but couldn’t find anything to indicate that the whirlpool
was anything other than a natural phenominone. Suddenly the engines started to splutter and
they started to lose power.
“What’s
wrong?” Kowalski asked in alarm.
“Silt
must be getting into the intakes and blocking the filters. Let’s head back to Seaview,” Lee turned FS-1
onto a new heading, but the engines continued to struggle.
“Can
we make it, Skipper?”
“I
hope so, Kowalski,” Lee activated the
throat mic to call Seaview. “FS-1 to Seaview, come in, please, over.”
“Receiving
you, Lee – go ahead,” Chip answered.
“We’ve
got engine trouble, Chip. I'm not sure if we can make it back. I’m going to try and bring her back
submerged.”
“Okay,
I’ll have Seaview head for your position at flank.”
“Thanks,
Chip. FS-1 out.”
***
“Admiral, the
Flying sub is reporting engine trouble.
Lee isn’t sure they'll make it back,” Chip reported.
“All right,
Chip. Plot an intercept course. I’ll be
right there.”
“All ready on it,”
Chip told him before returning the mic to its clip and moving to stand behind
Paterson on Sonar. “Have you got a fix
on the Flying Sub?”
“No, Sir. They’re out of range,” Patterson told him.
Chip turned from
the sonar and returned to the chart table to plot the most direct course to the
Flying Sub's last known position.
“Chip,” Nelson
entered the control room from the aft hatch and headed towards Morton. “Where
are they?”
“About here, Sir.”
Chip indicated the position on the chart.
Nelson reached for
a mic. “Lee, its Nelson, What’s your condition?”
“We’re losing
power; I can’t get enough thrust to get airborne. I think the intakes are clogged,” Lee
reported. Doing the return trip
submerged would take them too long; they were some distance from Seaview and it
would mean that they would have to go around.
“Hold on,
Lee. We’ll be there as soon as we can,”
Nelson ordered.
“I’m going to try
and find shallower water so that we can try and make repairs,” Lee informed
him.
“All right, Lee –
keep us informed, Seaview out.” Nelson
laid the mic on the plot table and ran a hand through his hair muttering a
curse.
Chip took a
calming breath, trying to tamper down his own worry about his friend and
CO. How
did Lee do it? He’d managed to get
into trouble again on what should
have been a simple survey flight.
“How long will it
take us to reach them?” Nelson asked, breaking into Chip’s thoughts.
“Too long,” Chip braced himself for the explosion of
Nelson’s temper. If FS-1 couldn’t make it back under her own
power, they would be out of air before Seaview could reach them.
***
The engines
continued to cough and splutter as Lee coaxed the Flying Sub towards Seaview.
They had only covered a short distance, but were at least clear of the
whirlpool and the strong currents it created.
They had been climbing when the engines started play up, but were still
too deep to go out in scuba gear. “Come
on,” Lee muttered, pulling back on the controls in an effort to gain speed and
reach shallower water. He was thankful
now that he had heeded Nelson and eaten breakfast, at their present speed, it
was going to be a slow trip back and they were both going to be hungry and
tired by the time they returned to Seaview.
Suddenly there was
a flash of something big moving across in front of the Flying Sub.
“Did you see that,
Skipper?”
Lee nodded. Leaning forward to try and get a look at
whatever ‘it’ had been. “Yes, Kowalski, I saw it.”
“What was that?”
“I don’t know...”
there were many myths and legends about giant creatures that inhabited the
oceans. Lee had encountered some, up
close and personal in the course of Captaining the Seaview. Lee looked at the sonar screen, whatever it
had been; it had appeared out of nowhere.
“What the...?” A contact sped
across the screen and Lee looked up. “Kowalski, did you see what it was?”
“No, Sir – it was
moving too fast,” Kowalski replied apologetically.
Lee frowned,
whatever it was, he had no desire to find out.
“Do you think it’s
checking us out?” Kowalski asked.
“Could be, let’s
hope that it doesn’t decide to take a closer look,” If it took an interest in
the Flying Sub, they wouldn’t stand a chance of out running it, they were only
making between fifteen to twenty knots.
From what little he’d seen, he had gotten the impression that it was
nearly as big as the Flying Sub.
“Yes, Sir,”
Kowalski nodded in agreement.
Lee adjusted the
Flying Sub’s course in the hope of moving away from whatever was out there.
“See anything, Kowalski?”
“No, Sir,”
“Keep an eye on
sonar,” Lee ordered.
Lee searched the
ocean beyond the windshield, alert for any danger as FS.1 moved through the
water.
“Here it comes
again,” Kowalski warned.
Lee got the
impression of something reddish coloured as it entered the beam of the forward
lights. It was moving up over them, long
tentacles trailing behind it. “A giant squid,” Lee whispered in surprise. He’d heard about them, but had never seen
one.
Lee struggled with
the controls, but he knew it was useless, the creature’s tentacles closed over
the sub. FS-1 bucked and rolled,
throwing them around in their seats like some wild rollercoaster ride. There was an explosion and sparks and smoke
erupted from the control panel. Lee gave
up with the controls and looked at the control panel. Coughing, he unbuckled and lunged in the
direction of the fire extinguisher hanging in the rear.
“Skipper... ”
Kowalski yelled.
Lee grabbed the
extinguisher and aimed it at the control panel as he staggered, trying to stay
on his feet. The smoke caught in his
throat and stung his eyes. A few blasts
from the extinguisher put the fire out and Lee put it down on the deck, intending
to return to the pilot seat, but then, the boarding ladder broke free and
slammed into him, knocking him to the deck.
***
At that moment,
the squid apparently decided that they were not another squid.
It released the
Flying Sub and she nosed dived towards the bottom. Kowalski grabbed the control, trying to pull
the nose up.
As the Flying Sub
settled none too gently on the bottom, Kowalski unbuckled and dropped to his
knees beside Crane. “Skipper, can you hear me?”
He took Crane’s wrist and felt for a pulse.
Lee moaned softly,
but his eyes remained closed.
Encouraged,
Kowalski gave him a gently shake.”Skipper?” Carefully, he turned Crane onto his
side; a bruise was already forming on the side of his face. Hurrying over to the locked beneath the bunk,
Kowalski grabbed the oxygen and a blanket.
He placed the folded blanket under Crane’s head and then turned on the
oxygen before holding the mask over Crane’s nose and mouth.
Crane jerked and
tried to push the mask away.
“Easy, Skipper,”
Kowalski soothed.
Crane’s eyes
opened. “Kowalski?” he mumbled thickly beneath the mask and tried to sit up.
“Slowly, Skipper,”
Kowalski helped him sit up and eased him back against the bulkhead.
“What happened?”
“We’re on the
bottom,” Kowalski told him. “You were knocked out, I think you might have a
concussion. Best not to move around too
much,” Kowalski cautioned.
Lee looked around
the interior. “What’s our status?”
“I’m not sure,
Sir,” Kowalski admitted reluctantly, he’d been too concerned with the Captain
to worry about the Flying Sub.
“Need to check...”
Crane tried to get to his feet.
“Easy, Skipper,”
Kowalski took Crane’s arm and helped him stand.
"Maybe if we play dead, that thing will leave us alone,” Kowalski
suggested.
“I’m okay,” Raising
a hand to his head, Crane swayed unsteadily as he started towards the control
panel. Opening it, he surveyed the
damage. “Propulsion circuits are blown.”
Still holding onto
Crane’s arm, Kowalski looked at the burnt circuits. “Oh, man, we’re never going to get off the
bottom.”
“I might be able
to by-pass them.”
Kowalski regarded
him doubtfully; he knew a concussion when he saw one. “You should sit down, Skipper, let me do it.”
“All right,
Kowalski,” Crane conceded as he turned
and headed for the pilot seat. Dropping
into it, he fastened the throat mic. “Flying sub to Seaview, come in Seaview.”
“This is
“
“Just coming,
Skipper.”
There was a pause
before Nelson came on the radio. “Lee, its Nelson, what’s your condition?”
“Admiral, we were
attacked by something, we’re on the bottom and the propulsion circuits are
blown.” Lee reported.
“Can you make
repairs?”
“I’m not sure
Admiral, I’m going to try and by-pass them.”
“All right, Lee,
keep in touch. Seaview out.”
***
Nelson
threw the mic down onto the chart table. “That’s all we need.” He knew that he should not have let Lee go,
but he had no real reason to refuse. Lee
was too important to them all to be risked like this. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he
stalked forward into the nose. He felt
so damn helpless.
Lee
had made such a difference to all their lives.
When Lee had taken over the captaincy, everything had changed, both on
and off the boat. Yes, the crew had
resented Lee at first, but he had proven himself on more than one occasion and
the crew had come to appreciate Lee’s relaxed command style. Lee’s long term friendship with Chip Morton
and the gentle teasing between the two officers’ also contributed to the
atmosphere of the boat. Lee had become a
close friend and Nelson considered him vital to the future of the
institute. He couldn’t contemplate the
future without Lee. He wasn’t going to
let that happen, he vowed with renewed determination. Unclipping the nearest mic, he started giving
orders. “Reactor room, add strontium
pellets to the reactor. Engine room,
give me all the speed you can and hold it there.”
As
the replies came back, he walked back to the plot table.
***
Lee
sat slumped in the pilot seat, his throbbing head and blurred vision had forced
him to turn over the repairs to Kowalski.
All he really wanted to do was lie down and close his eyes, but he
wouldn’t allow Kowalski to see how badly he was feeling. He was still the Captain and it was his
responsibility to get them back safely.
“That
should do it, Skipper,” Kowalski announced, closing the panel.
“Good
work, Ski,” Lee straightened and ignoring the dizziness the movement caused,
started flicking switches. The control
panel lite up as the power came on and the engines started.
Kowalski
had returned to the co-pilots seat and was fastening his safety belt.
“Let’s
see if we can lift off the bottom,” Lee took the controls and gently started
FS.1 moving.
“Hey,
we did it,” Kowalski grinned.
Lee
smiled. The engines were still acting
up, but at least they were headed back towards Seaview again. “FS.1 to Seaview, come in, Seaview, over.”
“Receiving you, go
ahead, Lee,” Nelson answered.
“We’ve managed to
make repairs and are on our way back, but it is still going to take us at least
24 hours to reach Seaview,” Lee reported.
“All right, Lee –
we’ll be here.”
***
“Begin recovery,”
Nelson ordered.
“Aye, Sir,” Chip
walked over to helm control. “5 degrees down bubble, steady as she goes.” He watched as Seaview closed on the Flying
Sub’s position. “Engine room, slow to one third.”
“One third, aye.”
“Open nose hatch.”
“All stop. Activate magnet recovery gear.”
FS-1 hung
suspended under Seaview’s forward section, before slowly starting to rise in
response to the recovery gear. Within
minutes she was safely in her berth and the bay doors were closing.
“Chip, I want to
see Captain Crane in my cabin as soon as he comes aboard,” Nelson announced
prior to disappearing up the spiral stairs.
“Aye, Sir,” Chip
acknowledged, wondering why Nelson hadn’t waited for Lee and given the order
himself. Walking forward, Chip waited
while Sharkey opened the deck hatch. Kowalski appeared first and bent to help
Crane. “Are you okay?” Chip asked as Lee
climbed out of the Flying Sub hatch.
“Yes, I’m fine,”
Lee nodded. “You’d better get a repair crew down there.”
“Aye, Sir. The Admiral wants to see you in his cabin,”
Chip told him.
“All right, Chip –
thanks,” Lee headed towards the spiral stairs that would take him to officer’s
country.
“Excuse me, Mr
Morton, but the Skipper should be in Sickbay,” Kowalski told him.
“What happened?”
Chip asked.
“He hit his head,
he was out for a couple of minutes. I
think he has a concussion, Sir.”
“All right, Ski,
go eat and then hit your rack. I’ll make
sure the Captain is taken care of.” Chip
dismissed the crewman. Morton returned
to the plot table and unshipped a mic.
“Sick Bay, this is the Exec.”
***
“Come
in,” Nelson called in answer to the knock on his cabin door.
“You
wanted to see me, Admiral?” Lee asked, entering the cabin.
“Yes, Lee. Come in and sit down,” Nelson’s smile turned
to frown as he saw the bruising on Lee’s forehead. “What happened? Are you all right?”
Lee raised a hand
to his head. “It’s nothing, Admiral. I’m fine.”
Nelson regarded
Crane across the desk; Lee looked pale, despite his healthy tan. He wondered if he should postpone talking to
Lee until he had eaten and slept. “Coffee?”*
“Thanks. What did you want to see me about, Admiral?”
“Lee, I asked
security to look into how the Flying sub apparently was painted red without
anyone knowing.” Nelson began, picking up the sheet of paper lying on his desk.
“And?” Lee asked
between sipping his coffee.
Nelson leant forward
on the desk. “Lee, according to Ted Buchanan at Avionics and More, you turned up there and told them that
you needed a paint job on the Flying Sub and that she had to be ready by the 31st.”
Lee stared at
Nelson. “I’m sorry, Admiral, I don’t
know what you’re talking about.”
Nelson got up and
walked around to perch on the edge of the desk. “Lee, where did you go after the
NIMR party?”
Lee hesitated,
rubbing his forehead. “I ...err...went
to my office. I must have fallen asleep
there. When I woke up, I decided to
spend the rest of the night in my cabin.”
“What happened
after that?” Nelson prompted.
Lee shook his head.
He suddenly went white, almost falling out of the chair, then dashed into the
head.
“Lee,” shocked,
Nelson started after him, but was stopped by a knock on his door. “Come,” Harry
growled and was surprised to see Jamieson enter, followed by Chip Morton. Now how
the devil did doc know Lee wasn't well?
The sound of
retching stopped any questions and Nelson motioned Jamieson to enter the head.
***
Jamieson helped
Lee back into the cabin and guided him to a chair. Lee dropped into it and leaning an arm on the
desk, dropped his head onto his arm with a moan. “Sorry, Admiral,” he mumbled.
“It’s all right,
Lee, you should have told me you weren’t feeling well.” While Jamieson took a small vial from his
medical bag and filled a syringe, Nelson unbuttoned Lee’s cuff and bared his
arm.
“This should help
with the nausea,” Jamieson said as he administered the injection. “We’ll give
it a few minutes and then get you to sickbay.”
“Can’t I go to my
cabin?”
“Sorry, Skipper,
you know the rules. You’re going to sickbay for 24 hours observation,” Jamieson
told him gently as he rubbed Lee’s arm. “The only question is, can you walk or
do I need to call for a stretcher?”
“I can walk,” Lee
insisted, levering himself upright.
Jamieson smiled.
“Stupid question.”
With Jamieson on
one side and Nelson on the other, Lee made his way out of the cabin with Morton
brining up the rear.
***
Nelson found
sickbay quiet when he returned to check on Lee several hours later.
“How is he, Will?”
he asked the doctor, who was sitting at his desk drinking coffee.
“Mild concussion
and some bruising, he’ll be fine in about a week, if he follows his doctor’s
orders,” the doctor smiled.
“Can I see him?”
“Help yourself.”
Lee was lying
quietly in a lower bunk with his eyes closed, he seemed to be asleep. Nelson stood for a moment looking down at the
sleeping man. Leaning against the rail,
Nelson resisted the temptation to reach out and touch Lee, not wanting to wake
him. The bruise was leaching out and had
spread down the side of Lee’s face.
Nelson shook his head. I let you go out on a simple recon and you
end up in sickbay.
Lee stirred,
turning his head and then opened his eyes. “Admiral?”
“Lee, Lad, how are
you feeling?”
“Better.”
“Well, don’t get
any ideas about escaping,” Nelson warned gently.
“Yes, Sir,” Lee
smiled. “Admiral, I’m sorry about the
Flying Sub,” Lee apologised quietly.
Nelson patted his
shoulder. “We’ll talk about it when you’re feeling better.”
“No,
Admiral...there’s something I need to tell you.”
Seeing the worry
on Lee’s face, Nelson decided to let him talk. “All right, Lee – go on.”
“Admiral, that
night...after the party, I woke up in my office and I couldn’t remember how I
had gotten there." Lee lowered his
gaze and fidgeted with the bedclothes. “Then there is later, when I woke up in
my cabin on New Years Day and couldn’t remember anything.”
Nelson glanced in
Jamieson’s direction, wondering if the doctor should re-examine Lee.
“Admiral...” Lee started
hesitantly. “What if I’ve been brain washed or something?”
Nelson wasn’t sure
what to think. “I don’t see how Lee, but I suppose anything is possible. Maybe Jamie should take another look at you.”
***
Nelson
looked up from studying Lee’d blood under the microscope and shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Nothing
here either,” Jamieson replied as he straightened from checking the results of
the tests he’d just finished on Lee’s blood. “But if he was drugged, it will
have cleared his system by now.”
“So
what do we do now?”
“Admiral,
I don’t want to subject the Captain to any invasive tests until he is feeling
better,” Jamieson told him.
Nelson
nodded agreement. After all, except for
not being able to remember, Lee had not exhibited any signs of being drugged or
brain washed. He didn’t want him to have
to be subjected to any unnecessary medical exam, especially knowing Lee’s
dislike for anything medical.
“Why
don’t you get some rest, Admiral. Chip
is with Lee and Frank will call me if there is any change in his condition,”
the doctor suggested sympathetically.
Nelson
scrubbed his hands over his face, it had been a long day and he knew that he
should rest. However, this was Lee and
he found it difficult to rest when Lee was lying in sickbay. Lee had become so much more than Seaview’s
Captain, he was the son Nelson had never had.
“Admiral,
Lee will be fine until the morning,” Jamieson said as if knowing what he was
thinking. It was no secret that he and
Lee were close and he’d made no attempt to hide his feeling from the doctor
when there were no crew around to observe.
“All
right, Will. I’ll look in on Lee and
then I’ll turn in.”
***
Lee was sitting
up, eating breakfast.
“Lee, good to see
you looking better,” Nelson greeted as he entered the Sickbay. “I’ve been
looking at the tapes from your recon. You
were attacked by a giant Squid, about 40 feet long.” Nelson told him as he
walked towards the bunk and lent against the top bunk, looking down at Lee. “Very little is known about them, they are
very rarely observed, let alone caught on film.”
“Glad I could
help,” Lee answered, giving a look from under his lashes.
“You realise that
with FS-1 painted red, it probably mistook you for another squid,” Nelson
chuckled.
“Admiral, about
the Flying Sub...” Lee started.
Nelson held up a
forestalling hand. “Don’t worry about
it, Lee. We know all about it now, here,” he handed Lee a fax message that he
had received from the institute.
“What’s this?” Lee
took the paper and read it.
My
Dear Admiral Nelson
I
do hope that you liked the little surprise that I arranged for you. Do not blame Captain Crane; it really was not
his fault; although he made an excellent test subject. In case you have not worked it out, he was
hypnotised, with no memory of what he did, with the aid of a drug to make him
more open to suggestion. Rest assured that there will be no lasting effects on
the Captain, I wish him no harm.
But
I wanted to make an irrefutable point that my methods work.
I
know that you have many questions and one day I would like the opportunity to
discuss my work with you. But for now,
that will have to wait. I will be in
touch again at some time in the future.
Until
then,
Good
bye Admiral. We will meet again.
Lee shook his
head, handing the sheet of paper back to Nelson. “I wish I could remember who he was.”
“Security is
looking into it and when we get back, I'll go over the list of people that
attended the party. We’ll get to the
bottom of this, Lee,” he assured the Captain.
“I wish they would
pick on someone else for a change,” Lee complained.
“Finish your
breakfast and then maybe Doc will let you come and sit in the front porch. We’ll be arriving at the whirlpool shortly to
complete our mission,” Nelson said cheerfully.
He was relieved to know that nothing worse had been done to Lee.
As for his squid
adventure... Crane would attract the only one around with a funky paint job he
didn't even order... Nelson shook his
head. Life was never dull ...
"I think we
can put this down to the Flying Sub getting her own back," Jamieson said
jokingly.
The End...or is
it?
· The Death
Watch
· I know that
Lee should not be drinking coffee, but Nelson does not know that he has a
concussion, and Lee would not admit that anything is wrong.