From silvia.casale@ukonline.co.uk Fri Dec  5 13:47:44 1997
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 13:30:06 -0600 (CST)
From: Silvia Casale <silvia.casale@ukonline.co.uk>
Reply-To: seaQuest-ff@escapenet.org
To: seaquest-ff@escapenet.org
Subject: (sQ-ff) The Minstrel Boy- Parts 10 A and B
Resent-Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 13:43:33 -0600 (CST)
Resent-From: seaQuest-ff-request@escapenet.org

This is for Saturday, today and Sunday with part 9c before the lists close
for the weekend, hope you enjoy!

Alexi

Copyright E.Casale 1997



The next day they started work rebuilding the fighter. Hudson had been
reluctant at first, but Lucas had insisted that it was something that he
needed to do, besides it being stupid to waste such a good design, when they
knew it worked. And it did mean that they could change a few things, which
they had realised, with hindsight, could have been better, including adding
weapons.

When they had finally finished the work, the team gradually left, tired
after the hard days of work. Lucas stayed behind when they had gone. Kimura
came up and sat down beside him.

" Are you sure you want to do this? No one's going to think twice about it
if you don't want to. No one will think less of you at all," she said
gravely. He blinked with surprise that she had realised what he was
thinking. He hadn't told anyone yet. He had been waiting to find out if he
was going to back out at the last minute.

He shook his head. " I'm sorry. I guess I'm kind of hogging her all to
myself, but I do want to do this."

" Then I respect your decision," she replied.

He looked at her and smiled. " I know. Thank you. And thank you for
accepting my decision the other time. It meant a lot. It means a lot."

She smiled back at him and left. Then he turned to the computer, typing in
his passwords and then setting to work. It should have only taken a few
minutes, but somehow it took longer, as his fingers stumbled over the keys
and he found himself leaning forward on the monitor, breathing slowly to
counter the waves of fear and the memories that this was bringing back. But
if he could not do this, he would never be able to put himself in any
situation where there might be a risk. This would prove he could do it,
conclusively, and show that he would be all right. Still for several minutes
he paused, waiting to finish and then sat back crying silently, with his
arms wrapped round himself for comfort.

There were two things he could do: give up or carry on. He wasn't going to
give up now and let them win. So the only other thing he could do, was
somehow draw something good from it all. The one thing that he could find
from it was a new confidence and pride in himself. He had done something
wonderful and brave and it proved that he had worth, which he had had
trouble believing in, with any confidence, before. Partly what had got him
through it, was not letting them make him angry. If he had been angry, he
would have come out of it bitter and cynical. But in the middle of it all,
he had talked to someone and seen a glimpse of his life, been reassured
beyond measure, by a simple act of kindness, that not everyone was like
that. He could only focus on the fact if he gave in now, they would win. It
was over and he was alive. He just had to use it and make sure he grew
stronger from it. Learning from it was the only thing to do that could give
it some sort of meaning.

Finally he sat up and typed in the last codes. " Encryption completed." Then
he sighed, turned off the machine and left.



In the morning, he made his way down to the wardroom, where they were
meeting to discuss what tests they would repeat and how to run the
simulations safely. He still felt a low level fear in his stomach, but today
he was fresh and determined. The thing he had to worry about first, was what
everyone else would think.



" So the Saratoga has been cleared, to watch our backs, while we do this.
They would just be sitting around in any case, if they didn't." The sub in
question was the equivalent of  'Air Force' one, in the sea, and had just
delivered the joint Chiefs of Staff for the trial, as it drew to a close. "
We'll have the spectres out as well, just in case. Do you want to change
anything about the rest of the simulation?"

" No." This wasn't going to be easy. They were being very ancy about
anything that was similar or the same as the last tests. " That's fine. And
after that we can move on to the dogfight."

" Good. Any questions?" Hudson looked around, but everyone seemed satisfied
with the precautions, though still nervous about the whole idea. " Well,
then. Let's not waste time. How long before you can have her ready for launch?"

Lucas swallowed; they still hadn't realised. " I should be ready in about
fifteen."

The room went very still and quiet. Kimura gave him a quick smile of
encouragement.

" You mean Commander Kimura or whoever from your team you picked," Ford said
carefully.

" No. I meant me." 

" You can't be serious! How can you even think about doing this..." Ford
exploded.

" We've got lots of safety precautions, right? Or is it still not safe
enough, because if that's the case we should call it off," he replied
irritably in his tenseness.

" You're crazy to even think about doing this! We could never let you..."

" Commander, I'm in charge of this project and I designed the damn thing! I
think I have a right to test it, if I choose! I do not need you to protect
me! And besides I want to do this. I need to be able to prove to myself that
I can handle this. If I can't, then I can't hope to be able to stay here and
work effectively."

" There are other ways of proving that, Lieutenant. And maybe it's too soon.
In this case, the Commander is right," Hudson said meditatively.

" I'm going to have to do something that means that I'm at risk, sometime in
my life and I think that, actually, this is as safe as it's going to get.
And I think I can decide for myself when I'm ready to do something. Nothing
is going to happen and I'm going to be there and see that it doesn't and
then I'm going to know that I can get on with my life. If I'm heading up the
team, I'm the one who has to make this choice and I've made it. If you have
problems with it, that's your business not mine. I will not sit around and
halt my life because you seem to think I should. I need your support not
your protection, not your trying to hold me back because you can't cope with
it!" He had risen slightly, shouting, and he sat down again now, waiting,
angry at them. " I'm not a child and I don't want to be treated like one.
According to the UEO, I'm an officer and I want you to respect my decisions,
like you would with everyone else. What more do I have to do to prove myself
to you?" He took a deep breath. " I'm tired of having this conversation." He
couldn't care less that he had just had it in the wardroom, with all of
them, and that he was not being military or professional. It was about time
he said it and they accepted it. " Well, if no one is going to argue with me
any more, I'll go and get ready."

 In any other circumstances Hudson would have killed him for an out burst
like that. " Good Luck, Lieutenant," he called, as Lucas left.



" You're cleared for launch," Ford's voice came across the PAL as he took
one last, deep breath before the fighter lifted up and out of the boat. For
a moment he panicked, but nothing happened and he swallowed hard.

" OK. I'm clear."

" Shutting off sensors in thirty seconds to start simulation." There was a
pause. " Good Luck," Ford said and then they both cut communication links.

He was astonished that his hands were not shaking. He felt as if he were
about to be sick, but somehow it was just nerves, rather than the fear as he
had expected. It did not seem real, almost as though he were watching
someone totally disconnected from himself. He looked down at his watch and
powered up the engines. Three....two... The exhilaration of the craft's
graceful movements soothed him as he picked up speed through the clear
water, engaging the stealth functions. Still nothing happened. He dipped the
fighter into a trench and then pulled round, past Kimura's spectre and off
into the dark water.



" Sensors on. Find that fighter," Hudson ordered, tensely.

" Yes, Sir." They all set to work looking, typing fast, repositioning the
WSKRS, doing different sweeps and scans for water disturbance, heat levels.

" Well?"

" We've got a pod of porpoises on our right," Tim looked over, grinning. "
No fighter."

" Find it," Hudson ordered. He knew he had taken precautions. The area could
not be safer, but he could feel the anxiety in all of them. Nothing could go
wrong this time. It must not! He knew he was being illogical, but the
memories were hard to get past and he knew he would not be able to relax and
enjoy the tests as a challenging game, until he knew where the fighter was.

" There's nothing out there, Sir," Henderson told him, searching the data on
her screen.

" Keep looking."



He dipped the fighter down into the trenches again, making a slow loop back
towards the boat, watching the signals, that were their searches and scans,
on his sensors and responding to them. The spectres were three little green
dots on the screen off to his left, as the walls flew past. He'd forgotten
how much he loved the feeling of speed, the skill of handling a craft at
that velocity. It was a challenge. He slowed and took the fighter down to
the sea bed, skimming across it, only a few metres above the surface. There
was little sand on the rocks, so he need not fear their sensors picking up a
rising cloud where he passed. He hit the key to change the colouring of the
craft: the paint was heat sensitive to the small warming devices under the
armouring. He held the fighter still on the top of a ridge, looking down
into the valley over which the boat was moving slowly. The three spectres
were on the opposite side. Slowly he edged the fighter off the cliff and let
it glide down steeply and then along the bottom, picking up speed and
setting his target. 150...170...190... They would see him in a few moments,
but by that time he would be too close for them to react in time. At the
last moment, he pulled the craft up off the bottom and fired, flipping it
over the top of the boat and then turning back, away from the spectres,
increasing speed and slowly rising until he was just below the surface and
then he checked to see what damage he had caused.



" Fighter dead ahead ... firing..." Henderson gasped in one breath. " Direct
hit to engineering decks, Sir," she grinned.

" Target weapons..."

" I can't, Sir. We lost it."

" What do you mean you lost it? It just fired on us. It must be there!" Ford
exclaimed, leaning over her shoulder to check the information for himself.

" Well?" Hudson asked with amusement in his voice. He could relax now- more
or less.

Ford shook his head. " It's gone. How did it get so close without us even
knowing?" he asked. " We never even got a chance to fire intercepts or move
out of the way!"

" I'm rather interested in that question myself, Commander. Now, let's see
if we can find it, before we're destroyed for the second time today by one
test subfighter. Get the spectres out on a patrol pattern."



He moved the fighter back towards the boat, only five metres below the
surface. He would have gone higher, but then he would have risked buffeting
by the troughs of the waves. " What to target this time?" he muttered to
himself, as he approached for the second pass and dived. He could have fired
from where he was, but that would have meant that they would have been aware
of him sooner, this way he was inside the response time and weapons
parameters, before they even knew.



They had the simulation data up on the main screen now, as the alarms
started signalling proximity and weapons fire. The clamour died down after a
few seconds, the warnings too late.

" Sir, rear propulsion is out. Hull breech in three decks. We're dead in the
water. And I can't find the fighter."

Hudson frowned, not sure whether to simply be impressed or terrified by
their inability to respond. He was certainly glad that this was their design.



The fighter was lying on the bottom, below them, its pilot laughing. Had
they had enough? One, more pass, he promised himself. Besides, he needed a
chance to take on the subfighter. He would make sure this one was
impressive. He adjusted the targeting, as it was pulling slightly to the
left, but only by a tiny margin. It was already set to take account of water
pressure, currents, temperature and movement of the target. Then he reset
the target, powered up the engines and lifted the fighter straight up, into
their path firing.

And then sweeping down behind the first spectre as his craft appeared on
their sensors. The spectre started forward wildly, breaking sharply to the
right, but he had already fired, quickly U- turning to move in behind the
second as it swerved in his path, to avoid him. For a while he chased it,
suddenly throwing the fighter up and over it, flipping the fighter over and
firing as he approached it head on and then diving, to pass just beneath it,
and then up over Kimura's spectre, as she came in on Brody's tail.



The alarms wailed for a moment, the crew scrambling frantically. " Fighter
bearing off to the right and engaging with spectre 1."

" Damage report."

" Direct hit to the bridge, Sir."

" Can we assist the spectres?"

" No, Sir. We wouldn't be able to guarantee not hitting our own. They're
moving too fast." The simulation beeped again loudly, new data flashing up
on the screen. 

" Permission to return to the boat, Sir," Tony's voice came across. " I'm dead."

" Permission granted." Hudson shook his head. " Where are the other two
spectres?"

" Fighter is engaged with spectre two, Commander Kimura is moving into
position behind to assist..." she blinked at what she saw on her screen. "
Er... Spectre two is down, Sir."

" Had enough, Captain?" a cheerful voice came across the comms link, after a
quick crackle of static, as he reactivated the link.

" I think it's safe to say we surrender. We're dead anyway," he added,
sighing. " Come on back and tell us how the hell that thing works, because
unless it's as good as it seems, it means that the UEO's best just got
killed three times by one subfighter and I'm not too sure how pleased
Secretary McGath would be with that news."



" I owe you for that!" Brody said, as they met in the docking bay.

Lucas ran his hand through his hair, having taken off helmet for the
fighter, grinning as Kimura came towards them and stood before him with her
arms crossed.

" I'm not letting you take her out again before you give me a go," she said
and they laughed, delighted that their hard work had paid and also in
relief. It had been a success and an important test in more ways than one;
each time he proved to himself that he could cope, it gave him strength to
try harder and achieve more.



" So a single fighter- a prototype, single test fighter- had seaQuest either
badly damaged, dead in the water or completely down three times?"

" And he took out two spectres," Kimura added.

McGath blinked at them. " I just hope that this is a reflection of the
fighter's ability and not something else," he said pointedly. " I will have
my people analyse the data carefully, but I can assure you that if this
thing is as good as it seems, we will go into production as soon as we can
finish testing and get approval. This is highly impressive. Good work," he
added and cut the link.

" Well, I'd say that was an unqualified success," Hudson said, turning back
from the view screen.
 " The stealth capabilities and the speed of that thing are incredible. I
can see how it might look like it was just our incompetence! Now, I think
it's time you went and celebrated. Tell the rest of the team the good news.
Dismissed." Kimura and Lucas got up, still alight with excitement and
success. "Congratulations," Hudson said, his tone conveying the deeper
meaning in the words. " That was a very impressive performance out there and
I think it just confirmed what we knew already."




Copyright E.Casale 1997

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