Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 06:11:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Victoria Jones <lzbtvc@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Formatting
To: aleksander.rozman@uni-mb.si
X-Originating-IP: [129.71.56.206]




Andy- You can format this? Great! Thank you so much!! :)-Lilly



Authors Notes: We originally wrote this because we thought Nathan
Bridger was a jerk in the third season and we didn't like that one
bit. This is definatly Alternate Universe because we cheerfully
ignored everything that happened to him after "Brave New World."
and surplanted our own vision, heh hehe heh hehe...*EG*

Many many MANY thanks to Michelle V. who is proofing this monster
for us.

You make us look good and we appreciate it. You're the best
Michelle!!! :)

Disclaimers: Everyone belongs to Amblin...we just don't know it ;)
Hmm the only ones that belong to us are the scienece community on
Spring and Celeste Islands, Lillian de Morgaine (a.k.a. Lilly)  Iain
MacNeill, and Andrea Christy. But if you want to have tea with Lilly
and her mother, marry off MacNeill and Christy (I do!*g*- Ellie) or
if you get the joke of Iain and Andrea's last names *G* just write
us (Lzbtvc@hotmail.com) and we will be glad to let them come out
and play.

Oh and on a pointless note many thanks for Thomas Dolby. We kept
bursting out singing his "She Blinded Me With Science" at random
times while writing the Nathan/Justine scenes. *snicker*

Comments *always* welcomed...flames will be used for Lilly's
pinata....

Have fun!
-Ellie and Iain


-------------------------------------------------------------------


                              Serendipity
                         E.Jones, I. Michaels


********************************************************************

Serendipity: Happening  upon fortunate discoveries when not in
search of them

*********************************************************************


    He smiled; a secretive smile. An 'I'm about to stick it to you
and enjoy every minute of it type of smile.'
    "The incident with the Serendipity has been taken care of" he
began neutrally.
    Bourne waved a dismissive hand on what had been six months of
work for the man. "Good good good. That should disorient them for a
while, should it not?"
    Inwardly the man was fuming. Disorient them? You could say that.
    But just wait till he told Bourne this part and see who's
*disoriented*. He tried his best not to laugh out loud as he gave
his next little tidbit of information. It would not do to be grinning
over a kink in the plans of one of the most powerful men in the world.
    "But de Morgaine and her daughter went with them." Success. He
wasn't sure he'd ever seen his employer turn that particular shade
of purple before. If he's not careful he'll give himself a stroke...
    "Fffffind them!" it was barely decipherable with all the sputtering."
Use what ever resources you have to, just find them!"
    "Yes sir." he responded respectfully and withdrew to another room.
Inwardly he was exultant. We did it! The chip is safe and so is Lilly.
A small smile played about his lips as he remembered the formidable
Lady de Morgaine. I've given you time. Now you know what to do with
it. Lost in his musings, he never heard the shot that killed him...


    To say that Nathan Bridger was having a bad day would be a bit of
an understatement. He had been having a bad six months. Since leaving
seaQuest to look for his son, life had been one wild goose chase. He
would go one place only to find the person he was looking for had
moved away or died. Another would turn out to be a dead end. After
that was the infamous false lead. He was beginning to think his quest
was worthless and maybe it was time to just give up. Robert did not
want to be found, of that much he was sure. Bridger's feelings on
that were amazingly flat. So be it. This trip was a last ditch effort.
And even that was being hampered...this time by the cleric from hell.
This receptionist was a woman who looked like she ate small children
for breakfast.
    Michael gave a little whimper and retreated behind the suitcases.
    "You can talk until you're blue in the face sir" she simpered-
there was a barb hidden in there none the less. "but all shuttles
to Celeste Island are full until the end of the week. Come again
tomorrow." With that Bridger found the shutter pulled down tight in
his face.

    Michael came out of hiding, looked up expectantly at his
grandfather. "Are we leaving?"  he queried innocently.

    "No Michael" Bridger answered with a heavy heart "we're not going
anywhere."
    The boy stared down at the ground, his lower lip just starting to
tremble. No whining or recriminations were forthcoming. Just that
small twitching his grandfather knew was to keep from crying. In his
heart he also knew what bag of tricks Michael pulled that little feat
from. As a small boy, Robert had never cried over anything, whither
from a small scratch or a broken arm. Neither Nathan or Carol had
ever discerned why; the boy just seemed to have no tears in him. Now,
    Bridger noted bitterly, Michael was continuing in his father's
ways. Was I the one who taught them both? He couldn't help but think.

    He immediately squelched the thought. He was in no mood to go over
his mistakes with a fine toothed comb. Defeat was already staring him
in the face; no need to ask despair to join them. Best see to Michael,
his concern in the here and now, and let things work themselves out
as they will.
    "Are you hungry Michael?" the boy nodded, mute. "All right then"
One hand gathered up the suitcase, the other landed on Michael's
shoulder, and
he steered
	them through the crowds.

	The two were eating what was supposed to be food in the station
	cafeteria when things took a turn for the bizarre.
      	" Nathan Bridger?"
	Bridger looked up-and then looked up some more. Standing next to the
	table was a very tall, imposing looking man late thirties possibly
early forties,
	who carried himself with the air of a born leader. Nathan tensed,  
worked
	 over the thought  the man might be military If so there was trouble 
coming for
	sure...
	"Yes." Bridger answered flatly, non-committal.
	Taking Bridger's monosyllabic answer as an encouragement, the man
	pulled up a chair, and catty-cornered himself from at the table. 
	He introduced himself  as Iain MacNeill. Bridger relaxed inwardly. No
	Commander, Captain, or any other  rank. The UEO  personnel
	he'd  had the displeasure of meeting here in 2032 were vain as
peacocks,
	never failing to drop their rank titles at the least invitation. So 
	this young man was either a very new recruit-or a civilian. If he was 
	going to have to speak with him, he would prefer the latter.
	Taking another quick look at the man, Bridger  noticed the casual 
	clothes, the defiantly *non* regulation hair cut. Definitely a 
civilian.
	"Do I pass inspection?" the younger man asked quietly. Only
	then did Bridger let down his guard long enough to feel a trifle 
ashamed. 
	Not that he was going to show it of course. 
	"At first glance you look military." A pause."Or lapsed military"
Bridger
	 explained.
	It was then the waitress came back over to the table. The exasperated 
glare she
	gave Bridger could have made the polar ice caps melt. Bridger sighed; 
it was the
	second time today someone had given him that look and he hadn't cared
for it all
	that much the first time.
	"I didn't know you were expecting company" she whined. Now it was
	MacNeill's turn to get glared at. Bridger just watched bemused.
	"I didn't know either" was Bridger's sardonic answer.
	MacNeill just grinned back unfazed by the waitresses stare. The girl
quickly took
	MacNeill's order and left.
	MacNeill took up where Bridger had left off. "If I look military.
	Or  lapsed military"  MacNeill smiled at that .. Bridger had no idea
how close to
	the truth it was "It's because I was. I was an inorganic chemist
employed by the
	Army, and later by the UEO .
	Bridger couldn't help but be surprised by this "You're  UEO ?"
	The other man smiled grimly. "Notice I used the past tense." There was
a little
	quirk to his lips,as if the words tasted sour. "I quit." MacNeill 
informed him. " Yes
	there is a point to my ramblings. These shuttles running to 
Celeste...they aren't full.
	They just aren't running." He shrugged "Too close to Mac territory."
	"Much too close" came a new voice to MacNeiil's left. Bridger turned to
look
	and missed the source entirely. She had already pulled up another chair
and was
	sitting closer to MacNeill than was necessary
	Bridger turned again to meet the new arrival face to face. The woman's
warm
	brown eyes met his with not a little bit of surprise, but it was gone 
as quickly as it
	had come. Breaking the eye contact she twisted around to face MacNeill.
	" Sarah Christy " she tossed Bridger's way, paying more attention to
	MacNeill's soda. She grabbed for it, but he snatched away, looking
	somewhat pleased with himself. Nathan  watched with sympathetic
	eyes as Christy got That Look-mess with me go ahead- on her face,
	 and then MacNeill's twisted in a grimace of pain. The woman took the
soda,
	began to sip off  the edge of the glass. She knocked it all back in one 
gulp,
	slammed the glass down on the table, and gave a grin  that could only
be described 
	as the cat that ate the canary. 
	"MacNeill's better half, marine geologist at large. Hello Nathan
Bridger."
	Bridger sighed. One would have thought mysteriously vanishing off the 
face of the
	earth for ten years  would have brought a little more anonymity. 
Apparently not.
	He decided to finally  unleash his growing irritation.
	"Listen, it's quite obvious  you didn't come over here just to have
dinner and run
	up my tab. If there's a point to this little meeting I'd appreciate if
you'd eventually
	get to it."
	Christy and MacNeill traded delighted smiles.
	Christy snickered "He *is* just like she said he was" .
	Bridger briefly wondered who *she* was and what in God's name
 	*she* was doing discussing him. He didn't didn't want to get the two
off
	rambling again, so he just gave them a single withering look.
	The two, much to their credit, immediately sobered and  "got to the
point"
         
	Christy took the lead in the conversation. "As Iain said, he resigned.
	So was did I. So did many many others. A small number of us set up a
	scientific community on Spring Island, which as you may or may not
	know, is the closest to Celeste. Now  the official shuttles won't go to
	Spring as it's too close to Mac waters. But we're going to run the
	route this afternoon. Then a week from tomorrow, a few of our
biologists are
	going to swap research with our sister community on Celeste." The
	young woman leaned back in her chair, smiling her Chesire smile again.
	"We could take you over there easy.' That is, if you don't mind
spending a week
	with some dotty  researchers"
       	MacNeill laughed.

	Bridger considered it. It was a tempting offer. If what MacNeill had
said could be
	counted as the truth, their offer was the only option left  Bridger
	had never liked to count on other people. However this decision didn't
effect
	just himself any more. There were other factors involved now. He
	looked over to Michael, who gazed back, expectancy mirrored in his
	eyes. All right he would swallow his pride and do this.
	"Thank you" Bridger answered stiffly. Realizing  he sounded like a
	jerk he softened his tone. "If you're sure it's not too much
	trouble..." 
	Christy cut him off "Of course it's not. Without even  glancing at
MacNeill she
	tossed a debit chip down on the check. She then looked over at
Bridger,
	 remarking lightly "You'll just have to put up with being a bit of a
celebrity for a
	week."
	Great' was the only thought going through Bridger's head as they made 
their way
	to the launch,  just wonderful.





**************************************************************

"Love is stronger than justice
Love is thicker than blood..."
Sting, Love Is Stronger Than Justice

**************************************************************
	An hour into the journey Christy decided to get even more 'to the 
point'  
	Calling up to MacNeill in the pilot's seat Christy asked. "Did you give
him
	 the good stuff " she paused, "or your usual dry toast with a side of
boredom?"
 	"Is that more bizarre English humor?"  MacNeill shot back  with a
smile on his
	face. "Geez Andrea was I supposed to tell him then and there, in the
middle of the
	damn station? 
	"Yes yes yes." Christy waved her hand dismissively in the pilot's
direction. Smiling
	conspiratorally at Bridger she raised her voice just loud enough for
MacNeill to
	hear her "Understand  that he'd be the kind of teacher to put you to
sleep and/or
	make you hate biology for the rest of your life."
	"Ahhh" was all  Bridger could think of to say in the face of all this
bickering
	between the two scientists. Actually he wanted to know what "the good
stuff" was
	and how  it affected him, but knew it would be highly unpolitic to ask 
at that
	moment.
	Christy gave a mock sigh, knowing she had MacNeill right where she 
wanted him.
	"Excellent in the feild....*lousy* in the class room."
	"Are you referring to Berkeley?" MacNeill sallied back, eyes never
leaving the
	helm.. 
	Christy's smile was all sweetness and light "No I never said that. You
inferred it."
	"Whatever." MacNeill let it drop, avoiding the urge to mention tenure.
	 "I guess that leaves the fun little details to me huh?" The woman
tossed off lightly.
	Nathan sensed it was a rhetorical question and said nothing. He just 
looked at her
	expectantly. There were darker undertones to Christy's previous sallie
and he was
	growing more and more curious as to what all the mystery was."Iain told 
you about
	the resignations, but he didn't tell you the reasons for them." 
	Christy breathed in deeply then exhaled slowly and began her narrative. 
	" In June of 2022,  a prominent immunologist, Dr. Sarah Wesley was
found
	brutally murdered in her apartment on New CapeQuest, Florida. Since 
Wesley was
	working for the UEO,  it was deemed an internal matter and to be 
handled as
	such."  The woman's brown eyes flashed with resentment "As you can
guess, the
	procedures were a joke and the culprit was never found. Even though 
there was a
	plethora of clues, the case remains unsolved to this day. Soon the 
rumor began to
	circulate among the scientific community that a coverup was involved 
because" a
	coverup was involved." The biologist paused, gathering her thoughts. 
Bridger
	remained silent and waited for her to continue. With a small toss of 
her head, the
	woman continued. "This was mostly because the Secretary General's son 
was the
	main suspect."
	Bridger did a double take at that one. "Anderson Noyce?" It was a bit 
much to take
	in. "That's impossible. Andy would never hurt a flea."
	"I'm not saying I believe it," Christy answered quietly, "I am simply
telling you
	what the rumors were at the time, giving you some back ground 
information." She
	abruptly went back on subject. " And then into this whole mess happened
the
	incident with the Serendipity."
	"The Serendipity was a research vessel, much like your seaQuest was
meant to be."
	Bridger winced; wheither that last statement was meant as a dig or not, 
he had felt
	the sting. "Minimal military, and only because it was under the
jurisdiction of the
	UEO. It's maiden voyage was on on July 15, 2023." A week later, it
	just...vanished...somewhere in the Pacific."
	Another pause and  Christy gave him a speculative glance. 'Does that
sound
	familiar', her expression seemed to say. She leaned back.. "In the same
waters the
	Macronesians  claimed as theirs not three days later."
	"It was a mess. At the time, the  UEO at the time was still trying to
settle with the
	Macronesians so they couldn't necessarily say "Excuse us, but did you
shoot down
	one of our research vessels?"" The woman laughed dryly, amused by the
sheer
	stupidity of her  former organization " They gave us their "word" " she
mimicked
	quotation marks around the words "and the UEO  bought it. There was an
	investigation but echoing the Sarah Wesley debacle, it was mostly a PR 
job."
	"Naturally, " Christy continued " the scientific community
was*incensed*. They
	had been screwed over not once but twice by the UEO." A grim sense of
finality
	came into her voice. "The first resignation was delivered the next
day."
	"Now, you might be asking, "why does it matter that we lost a couple
dozen
	scientists?'" Bridger opened his mouth to protest and  Christy cut him
off .
	"It was hypothetical." she said, a small smile twisting her lips.
	"What matters is that they've got all their best minds fragmented and
working
	against each other now, instead of together. There is no collaboration, 
no 'meeting
	of the minds'. The scientific community was shot to hell, and as a
result, is
	entrenched in various little niches that rarely talk to each other. "
	Christy's brown eyes glimmered as she gave her next prediction
	"And sooner or later, Bourne's  gonna capitalize on that and use it to
his
	advantage."
	Bridger had just about enough of this explanation and wanted to know 
how this
	involved him." . "You are *crazy*" he said smoothly, velvet over steel.
"That
	would mean anarchy or even Mac control. Is that what you want?" His
eyes sought
	out his sleeping grandson  "it's not what I would want" he answered his
own
	question softly "It's not what I would want."
	Christy followed his eyes and sighed to herself "It would have been
better for them
	both if we had left them sitting in that station" she whispered to no
one in
	particular. However this is no time for regrets. There were too many 
things to be
	done....
	Gathring her resolve, Christy continued in a normal tone- "No nor I.
That's what
	we're hoping to fix today."
	The look he  gave her spoke volumes of his curiousity.
	She knew she couldn't give him the answers he needed.  It was just too
	difficult..Instead she called up front "Hey Iain you wanna let me pilot
for a while?
	You look like you're getting tired."
	A pleasing fiction, MacNeill looked like he could have driven all 
night. Bridger
	sensed something else under the surface though, and watching MacNeill's
reaction
	only confirmed his suspicion it. Christy hopped up from her seat and 
began to
	proceed wobbling down the narrow aisle. When she reached the cockpit 
MacNeill
	graciously gave her his seat. Then then gave the woman a hug and 
whispered
	something to her that Bridger  couldn't make out. MacNeill then made
his way
	back to Bridger . The other man wasted no time. As he plopped down
next to
	Nathan, MacNeill began his half of the story.
	"Our community on Spring Island is close to the border. Very close.
After the
	Marshall episode they tend to leave us alone."
	Bridger wanted to ask what he meant , but didn't dare to get MacNeill
off topic
	after listening to Christy's ramblings.
	MacNeill didn't even notice his seat mate's confusion , because he was
so wrapped
	up in his story.
	"About two months ago, members of a wrecked Mac convoy washed up on our
	beach. We were very cautious about it,  but manged to treat them for 
their injuries. 
	I'm not sure ifyou're up on protocl so I'll just assume..."
	"Yes" Bridger interrupted "I do know something of them. They don't
negotiate.
	Period end of sentence."
 	MacNeill nodded. "Minashin, our local  expert, was able to identify
one of the
	lesser off men as a high ranking military officer. Something they would 
*definitely
	* come to us for which they have."
 	"The Macs don't deal." Bridger echoed his earlier statement, clinging
to what he
	did know of this strange new world. 
	MacNeill gave Bridger a lopsided grin  "After the Marshall incident
they will."
	Bridger frowned as the man once again alluded to things he knew nothing 
of.
	MacNeill caught it and decided to explain as briefly as he could. 
"Biogenic weapon
	loosened on a small contingent of  Mac "diplomats." 2029." Seeing
Bridger's
	horrified look,  MacNeill  quickly continued . "It was an accident,
some researcher
	got careless with their controls. In the end, it proved to be very
fortuitous it let
	them know to leave us alone. Even earned us an ally in their forces."
	Bridger felt as if he had fallen into Wonderland, never mind 2032. "You
have a
	Macronesian  contact?" Access to biogeneic weapons? You're even crazier
than I
	thought".
	"Uhhh hmmm." came MacNeill's answer.
	Bridger  wasn't buying it. "So why can't Christy feed me this line?"
	The look the other man gave him would have frozen most others in place. 
It was
	the look Bridger  had given many an underling himself. However, when 
MacNeill
	spoke it was with a wide depth of underlying sadness. 
	"Her mother was the CSO on that  vessel. Her youngest sister was
onboard as well
	Bridger wondered which foot to put in his mouth now. No wonder Andrea 
Christy
	was willing to believe any line of garbage fed her. She too knew the 
pain of the loss
	of family. And the incredible lengths one would go just to*know* if the 
lost one
	was alive or dead.
	"I'm sorry," was all he could manage to whisper.
	"Yeah," MacNeill rasped, "You and me both." Abruptly he switched topics
"Two
	days ago we recieved word from our sources."
	Bridger felt his distrust resurging in his chest. He  was almost 
chocking on 
	the question he was unable to ask.
	MacNeill answered it for him "We recieved word that there were
survivors from
	the Serendipty.." Resolution came into his voice "We've decided to go
after
	them...against direct UEO order."


______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

