========================================================================== CONFLICTS Sherry Loeffler ========================================================================== Timeline: After "SeaQuest 2032" (after 3rd season) Author's E-Mail: loeffler@istar.ca ========================================================================== AUTHOR'S NOTES: Here's another one. This is in two parts only. =========================== PART 1 ===================================== CONFLICTS SeaQuest was cruising at the moment. There seemed to be peace in the world. Things looked good for a change. There were no urgent messages or rushing around to help some colony. Even Macronesia seemed to settle down. Possibly the renegade subs had decided to concede to what Macronesia had done by signing the treaty. The crew of SeaQuest were looking forward to some time off. Shore leaves had been planned and some were excited about it. Tiffany, Tim, Tony and Dagwood, though were not on this list for shore leave. In three weeks the ship planed to be near the Perseid Mining Colony. That was where Dagwood's friend Rachel lived. The four of them had asked for a four day pass to take a mini-sub and spend some time there. Dagwood did not often show emotion. It was the way he was made, but he had been learning since his time on SeaQuest, what emotions were. He was even developing them. Tiffany had her suspicions that he really was in love with Rachel, but he did not really know what that meant. He was confused and Tiffany had tried to explain what it was like to be in love. Dagwood kept saying they were friends, but Tiffany knew it was more than a friendship. Rachel's letters were getting to be more intimate and it seemed she was really anxious to see Dagwood again. "Are you in love?" Dagwood was curious about her relationship with Tim. "Well, um," she hesitated. She knew she was but still wasn't sure Tim felt the same way. "Yes, I am, Dagwood." "With Tim?" "Yes, but please don't say anything to him about it." "Why not? Tim is my friend. We talk about lots of things." "I'm not too sure he would want to talk about being in love with me." "You kiss Tim." He said it like a statement. It was not a question or a surprise to him, it was just a plain statement. Tiffany could feel herself blushing. "Ah, yes, we have kissed. Why did you say that?" "When I see Rachel, should Dagwood, um, I mean should I kiss her?" "Oh, well, I um." Now that was a question she did not expect. Dagwwod had come to her quarters, wanting to talk. His lessons were coming along very well. He wrote most of the letters back to Rachel himself and he could now read most of hers. He was a very quick study. Why no one had ever taught him the alphabet and words, she couldn't understand. She was waiting for Tim to come. They were going to take a walk around together for a while before they had to be on duty. She wished he were here now. "Do you feel that you want to kiss her?" "Mmm, I do not know. I think I do." She wished Tim would hurry up. "Dagwood, how did Rachel react to you before?" He told her tha Rachel had hugged him a few times. He liked it when she did, but he felt awkward at the time. He didn't actually say he felt awkward, but Tiffany could sense it. Her door was open and she kept hoping Tim would show up. He might be able to handle this better, man to man. On the other hand, he was nervous enough himself every time he kissed her and hugged her. "Well, Dagwood, maybe it's time you did kiss her. You should do what you feel like. No, that's not a good way to put it." She did not want to lead him into anything. "When you see her, give her a hug. If she responds by hugging back, then you know she still cares about you. Then you could kiss her. I think she cares enough about you, that you could kiss her." She looked toward the door again. Where was Tim? "OK, but Dag, um, I do not know how to kiss her." Yes she definitely should pass this on to Tim. Not that he was an expert, but he could tell Dagwood what to do and how to do it. "How do I kiss her?" "Dagwood, wouldn't you feel more comfortable about talking to Tim about this? After all he is a man and so are you." "I am told I am not a real man. I am Dagwood. I am Dagger." "Dagwood, let's get one thing straight. Your kind, I mean Daggers, are just as human as the rest of us. Just because you weren't born like us doesn't mean anything any more. Your bodies have adjusted to being in a human society. You are human. Do you understand me?" "Yes, I am sorry." "It's OK. Nothing to be sorry about." Tiffany smiled and touched his arm. "I know it must be hard to get used to, Dagwood, but you have to realize, you are the same as Tim, Tony and even my uncle." That made him smile. He looked happier. "I want Tiffany to show me how to kiss Rachel." "Scuse me? You want me to show you? That's a bit difficult." "Tiffany is a woman. Rachel is a woman. You can show me." Tiffany took a deep breath. How would she handle this one? She looked to the door. Still no Tim. "OK then, I can try. Here, stand close to me. Now when you see Rachel, you're going to hug her, right?" Dagwood nodded. "Show me how you'll hug her." Dagwood stepped forward and put his arms around her. She hugged him back. "Now if she hugs you back like I did, all you have to do when she looks up is to bend you neck and bring your face close." Dagwood started to bend a bit, but he was awkward. This would make quite a scene. "OK a little more, so your mouth is close to mine. That's it. Then all you have to do is put your lips on hers." Dagwood had not told her he wanted a visual demonstration. He bent his head and put his lips on hers. It took her by surprise. She hadn't expected that. She also did not know that when Dagwood started to kiss her, Tim had just arrivied at her door. He stood there and watched with surprise. He didn't know what she was doing or why. All he saw was Dagwood kissing her and she did not try to push him away or anything. That made him mad, but he could not confront her or Dagwood. He turned and walked away. He walked quite a while, until it was time to report to the bridge. He hoped she would not be there. After Dagwood kissed her, he lifted his head and turned it to one side like he always did when he was decided whether he liked something or not. Then he smiled. "Yes, Dagwood can do that to Rachel." Tiffany pushed his arms away. She looked over at the door, but no one was there. That was good. How would she explain that one? "OK Dagwood, I think we've had enough visual demonstrations." She looked up at him. "Thank you Tiffany. I will know how to kiss Rachel now." "OK Dagwood, Tim should be here soon, so lets get together later and see how you do in reading. I have a book for you to read. It should be easy and will give you practice. I think we have outdone Rachel's letters so far as reading is concerned. OK?" She smiled. He smiled and nodded. "I will be OK now." He left. She was glad Tim hadn't been there. He did not like the idea of Tony staying in her guest room for one night. What would he say to Dagwood kissing her. Rachel may be in for a surprise. That wasn't the best kiss, but she thought Rachel would be happy about it. Tim didn't show up, and Tiffany had to be on the bridge to relieve Jonathan soon, so she started toward the bridge. On the way, Lonnie caught up with her. "I've been looking all over for you. I got this really great idea. Things are going a bit slow around here and we'll be leaving soon for somewhere else, but nothing urgent so I thought we should have some fun and have a crew talent show. What do you think?" "Um, I don't know about that. Do we really have some talent around here?" "Well, we can start with you. Then we can find others who can sing, dance or play and instrument. I think it'll be lots of fun and it'll give us something to do. It's boring around here when there isn't any excitement." Tiffany hadn't found it boring, but then she had spent a lot of time with Tim and she enjoyed it. It wouldn't hurt to go along with the idea. "Well, alright, but, you gotta put my uncle and me down for dancing. I won't do it unless he dances with me. We can try out some of our old moves." She said with a smile. It would do him good to get on the dance floor and the others could see a different side of him. "Just don't tell him, though. It'll be our secret and I'll make sure he does it, OK?" "Yeah, that sounds good. And you'll sing as well?" "Sure I will. Let me know what kind of talent you find around here." "Will do. Later." She went off, excited. Tiffany went on. "Commander Ford. I'm relieving you for a spell." "Good, I need a break. Keep her steady as she goes." "Aye, sir." Ford was always formal and serious with her. She wondered why he was that way. It seemed as if he didn't like her or he didn't want her around. She slid into the Captain's chair. She really wasn't interested in his job or anything. She didn't even want to be on the bridge. He could keep it. She only wanted to experiment and make new discoveries. That was more interesting than being on this bridge. Tim was at his console. She wondered why he hadn't shown up at her quarters. Maybe he forgot or something. Maybe he didn't feel the same way she did. She thought he did, but he never really said, so maybe she was reading him wrong. "Sir, all's quiet here." He said. He didn't even look at her. "Thanks, Mr. O'Neill. Tony, sonar?" "Nothing on here. All's quiet here too, sir." "Good, let's hope it stays that way for a while." She settled back. Something was wrong. She could feel it. Dagwood came onto the bridge. "Dagwood, stay by Tony and watch what he does. Maybe you can learn the sonar too." "Aye, sir." People were going around, doing their jobs. Tiffany looked around. This was quite a big bridge. There was lots of room, so people were not tripping over each other when trying to work. It was well laid out. Apparently they kept it pretty much to how Captain Bridger had it. She thought about him. He had just found out he had a grandson when he came back from space. He was thrilled of course, but that meant there was a chance of his son being alive. She wished him well in his quest to find his son. He also had a grandson ro raise. She smiled. "Sir, there's something coming up fast. It looks like a big boat up top." Piccolo was watching the sonar screen. "Can you get it on screen, Mr. Piccolo?" "Not yet, but it sure is coming fast." "Where's WSKRS right now?" "All three are out. This thing's coming too fast." "O'Neill, try to hail him. We want to know where the fire is and who they are." Tiffany got up and walked over to him. "They aren't answering, sir." He seemed to emphasize the 'sir' part or was that her imagination? She wasn't sure, but now wasn't the time to think about it. She told Tim to call Commander Ford to the bridge. Before he could get to the bridge, though Tony called out. "Sir! They're over top and they just dropped something!" "Piccolo! What did they drop?" "I'm not sure, but ..." He was interrupted. She wished Lucas was on the bridge. He had a way of finding out things. A depth charge went off close to the ship. "There's more of them coming, sir!" Another went off, then a third. The ship rocked. Just then Ford came on. "What's going on here?" Then another one went off. "Piccolo, get the torpedoes ready." Henderson had followed Jonathan on. "Aye sir." Tiffany added her own thoughts. "Commander, what about using Chameleon?" Ford nodded. Tiffany wnt to the consol. She pulled the lever and made them invisible. "Torpedoes ready sir!" "O'Neill, anything from them yet?" "No, sir, just silence." Just then Captain Hudson came on the bridge. "What on earth is going on? What was that I felt? Commander?" "We are trying to find out sir. There's a ship on top. He, um, doesn't seem to like us much. There's nothing else on sonar and no communications. We have Chameleon on now, sir." "OK Commander. Thank you. O'Neill?" "Still nothing sir." Everything was quiet now. Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen to see if there would be something else. Nothing happened. Tony was watching the sonar. "Sir, the boat's moving away. Yep, it's leaving. Not as fast as it came, but it is leaving." Hudson turned to look at him with questioning eyes. He turned back. "Henderson, I want that ship followed. I want to know where it goes." "Aye sir." SeaQuest slowly turned around and started to follow the ship. "I'll be in my quarters if needed." Hudson left the bridge. Ford looked at Tiffany. "I'm gone too and don't call me again unless there is something important." He glared at her as if she had called him for no reason. Tim smiled. After all this time Ford still didn't like her and he showed it every time they met. "Aye sir." was all she could say. She wished he would know that she wasn't as bad as he thought. She didn't even know why he didn't like her. She didn't understand it. And Tim grinning didn't help matters any. She glared at him and he stopped. Usually he would smile at her when they were on the bridge together and he sympathized with her and how Ford treated her. But now he seemed to be enjoying it. He would not look at her after Ford left. She was still sitting beside him, so she turned to him. He looked away again. "Tim, what is wrong? Did I do something or say something?" He turned and looked at her. "Nothing. Forget it." He looked at his console. "Tim I have to know what is going on? Why are you acting so different?" "I'm not acting different, you are." "Me? How?" "Just forget it. It's not important." "It is to me. Our relationship is important to me." "No, it isn't" Tiffany didn't know what to make of it, but got up and went to the captain's chair. She watched the screen. Dagwood went over to Tim and asked him something. Tim snapped at him. When Dagwood tried to ask again, he just shook his head and turned away. They had always been good friends. What had he done to deserve that treatment? Well, she had to concentrate on this problem now. The ship stopped. They were in the middle of the ocean and it just stopped. She motioned to Henderson to stop SeaQuest. Tiffany was patient and could be just as patient as whoever was in that ship. They sat and waited. "O'Neill, keep trying communications. Maybe they'll break down and talk to us." "Aye sir." After a couple of hours, Commander Ford came back and relieved Tiffany. He told her the captain wanted to see her in his quarters. When she came in he had a stern look on his face. "What's going on between you and O'Neill? The tension on that bridge could be cut with a knife and it had nothing to do with that ship. I saw you two glaring at each other. What is it?" "I don't know. Something must have happened to make him mad at me. I'll find out later. I'm sorry about the bridge, but I can't helpl the way I feel about him." "The way you feel? What is going on? Is there something I should know?" Tiffany thought the whole ship knew about her and Tim. "I love him, but I don't know if he feels the same way. I don't think he does." She sat down. "Love! Tiffany, how can you say that? You know I don't like shipboard romances and it won't last anyway. You should not let this little infatuation influence your work. And I forbid you to say things like that." "You're treating me like a child! You can't forbid me! I'm a grown woman and I will love whomever I want. Don't you go telling me what to do." "Tiffany, let's talk uncle to neice. You know I want the best for you. I would think after what happened with Brian you would be more careful .." She interrupted him. "Brian! That was years ago and this is different. Tim isn't like that. You know we have a lot in common. You know we get along well. Our relationship is developing slowly and that's the way I want it. I don't need you or anyone else to tell me what to do!" "Tiffany, I don't want you to get hurt. That's all. Listen to me." "No! I won't listen to you. You can't tell me what to do with my love life. You have no right. Yours isn't so hot you know. Don't try to ruin my life anymore." With that she stormed out the door and back to her room. After calming herself down she decided to get back to the lab, but ran into Lonnie again. "How's it coming with the talent show?" "Good I think. What are you doing to Tim? He's been a friend for a while you know and I don't like what's happening." "Not you too! I don't know what is wrong with people on here, but I'm not doing anything to anybody. If there is a problem I'd like to know it." "Come on Tiffany. I like you fine, but when Tim got a break just now, I could see he was upset and I tried to talk to him. He told me about this morning." "What about it? He was supposed to meet me at my quarters and he didn't. I didn't see him until I went on the bridge." "He saw you alright. You and Dagwood." Tiffany stopped. Dagwood! Tim did see Dagwood kiss her. She should have known it! That's what's behind his attitude. "Lonnie, there's nothing between Dagwood and I. What Tim saw wasn't what it seemed. Just then they heard the alert and the command for all officers to report to the bridge. Both of them rushed back. The ship rocked a couple of times. Looked like more depth charges. Captain Hudson was just behind them. "What are they doing to my ship?" He grabbed the communications mike on Tim's console and yelled into it: "Stand down or we will send out our torpedoes. Acknowledge!" There was silence. Then there was a big charge which threw everyone, who did not have their safety belts on, flying all over, including the captain. His head hit against a metal console and he went down. Tiffany tried to keep Chameleon on, but it was flickering on and off. They knew SeaQuest was there anyway so she put the lever back to the off position. Then she turned around and saw the captain. "Unc!" she screamed and ran over to him. Tim called for medics to the bridge. Ford came over. Tiffany had her uncle's head in her lap. He was unconscious and there was a lot of blood coming from his head. She was trying not to cry. She looked up at Ford. He could see the concern in her eyes as well as the fear. The medics came. "Go with him, Tiffany." Ford was showing some compassion at least. She followed them down to the sick bay. More to come .... Sherry =========================== PART 2 ===================================== Here's part two. Back on the bridge things had calmed down. Then Lucas noticed something. "Sir! They're on the move again. Headed south and east." "Follow them Henderson. We don't want to lose them." She nodded. SeaQuest followed them. Everyone wanted to know why this ship was doing this. It's manoeuvres seemed to be erratic, as if they did not know what they wanted to do or where they wanted to go. Down in the sick bay Tiffany watched as they washed her uncle's head and looked at the wound. Apparently it was deep. They weren't sure if there would be any brain damage. They put a special ointment to help the healing after the operation. They took care of him, but Tiffany was still scared. She did not want to lose her only relative. The last time they talked she yelled at him and got mad. She would never do that again. She promised herself. She had never been this scared. She had been in subs during the war. She had been where there were bombs all around, and she was scared then, but never as much as now. This was different. Maybe what he always said about relatives working together was a good point. She could not handle this too often. After they had done all they could for him, she stood by his bed and watched him. It seemed like the ship was moving again. Following that ship no doubt. There had been no more bombs dropped. All was quiet again, but they were on the move. She held her uncle's hand and watched his face. How often she had teased him, that he was too stern. He said it was because he did not want people to know what he was thinking. He said the best defense was an offense. If they thought he was stern, they would not know he had a soft spot. That way he could keep up a deception and get more from his staff. He always liked deception. She looked up. Deception. That was it. They were deceived.She looked back at her uncle and smiled. She kissed him. "You always know the answer, don't you. I bet you thought of it, but didn't have time to say it. I love you, Unc. Get well soon. I have a job to do." She rushed back to the bridge. "Lucas, where were we headed when this ship came up?" "Commander Rose that is not important right now." Ford cut in. "Yes it is Commander. Where was SeaQuest headed? I need to know." "Look, you may be the captain's neice and I feel for you with him in the sick bay, but I am in charge right now and you do as I say. No questions." "OK Commander Ford. This is not the time nor the place for this but you have been asking for it. You can cite me for insubordination if you want. I have had it with your chauvenistic attitude, your insinuations and all the rest since I came on this ship. Someone told me you think I am a challenge to you job. Well, Commander, I am no challenge to you for this job. I do not even want to be on this bridge. You can have it. Just because I am the captain's neice, does not mean that I get special treatment or privileges. If anything the captain has been harder on me than on any of you here. I'm tired of these conflicts we have between us. I've had it with you." "You're in command of this ship. That's a good position for you. You deserve it and more. The captain has said you would eventually take over. You're well suited for this position, but you have to learn that as a captain, you have to listen to what your next in command has to say. You may not always agree, but you should listen. I am the next in command. I have something to say to you, but first I need to know where this ship was headed when all this started." She took a deep breath and stared at him. Everyone was staring at him. He felt uncomfortable. He looked around. Maybe he should listen. "We were headed for Nexus. It's a colony just ..." "I know where it is Commander. Macronesia tried to take it over just after you guys came back, didn't they?" "Yeah, that's right." "We're now headed in the complete opposite direction. What do you think would happen if Macronesia decided to try again?" "Well, they could," he stopped. She could tell his brain was working. He looked up as the realization came on his face. "They could take control of a lot of other colonies and eventually take over the South Pacific ocean colonies and from there, they would just keep going. What are you saying, Commander?" "I'm saying we should turn this ship around. No, we can't do that. Which way are we headed?" She went over to look. "OK, Commander, this is your show, but I suggest we turn north and a bit east for a while. We don't want them to know we're wise to their actions." "This ship was a deception all the time, wasn't it? They wanted to steer us away. They knew they couldn't stop us completely, but they could steer us away." "About time you caught on, Commander. The proverbial red herring." "Henderson, let's go north and east for a while, then we'll turn west when we get away from those guys. Let's try to be quiet about this so they don't realize it. Maybe they'll think we are going back to San Francisco or Hawaii." "Aye sir, turning north and east." They kept that way for a while. Tony reported there wasn't anything on the sonar. Looked like they thought that SeaQuest was going back to port. Soon they turned west and headed back toward Nexus. There was a lot of tension on the bridge. While they were headed back, Tiffany decided to have it out with Tim. She leaned toward Ford so no one could hear her. "Sir, may I take Lt. O'Neill out for a couple of minutes? I need to explain something." "About what?" "Um, sir." Tiffany looked around. "About Chameleon." "You can do that here can't you?" "Well, it's something not well known and I want to keep it that way." Tiffany didn't like to lie to him, but she didn't know what to say. "OK, but make it quick, very quick." "Yes sir. Thank you sir." Tiffany went over to Tim. "Off the bridge for a minute Lt." Tim looked at Ford and he nodded, so he got up. Tony took his place. Dagwood was over by the weapons section watching Tony, so Tiffany motioned for him to come as well. Once they got off the bridge and down the corridor a bit, Tiffany turned to Tim. She looked around to make sure no one could hear. "What in the name of goodness do you think you're doing? How dare you form an opinion without knowing the facts. How dare you treat Dagwood the way you have, not to mention me. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. don't take it out on Dagwood. What is your problem that you can't come to me and ask about something you saw and didn't understand?" She paused. Tim just stood there. Dagwood was shifting from one foot to the other and looking down. "Timothy O'Neill! You have a lot of nerve! You haven't even so much as said that you like me, let alone love me. And you come to my room, saw something and assumed something else, without verifying what you saw. That is the most low down, despicable, lousy thing to do. I thought we had a good relationship here, but now I don't know what's happening." "I came to your room and saw you withDagwood. What was I supposed to think?" "You obviously didn't think! You could have asked. If you care enough about me to be jealous, then at least confront me about it and we would have explained it to you. Did you seriously think there was something going on between us? Tim, there has to be trust in our relationship. You can't have it any other way. You have to trust me. I trust you. What you saw was, well, it was just. Oh, Dagwood, tell the Lieutenant here why you came to my room this morning." "Mmmmm, Dagwood wanted to talk." "You two weren't talking when I saw you." "Dagwood, go on. It's OK.Neither you nor I did anything wrong this morning." She glared at Tim, who had a serious face. "I, mmm, wanted to know about seeing Rachel. Dagwood, um, I wanted to know how to, to, um hug and kiss her, like I saw Tim and Tiffany do. Tiffany said she loves ..." Tiffany cut him off. "What you saw was me trying to show him how to hold her and kiss her. I hadn't meant for it to turn into a real kiss, but it did. Dagwood was just unsure of himself. He likes Rachel and wants to show it, not like some people around here show their feelings." Tim's face was now red as he realized that he had misunderstood. "And furthermore, I had been stalling him, waiting for you to show up so you could explain things better and maybe we could have shown him what to do. I just..." Just then they were interrupted by some more depth charges or something. The ship rocked so much that the three of them ended up together in a pile on the floor. They could hear Ford yelling. "Lt.-Commander Rose and Lt. O'Neill, I need you both in here now." As they were getting up, Tiffany grabbed Tim's arm."Tim, we'll talk later, but we have to remember to keep our emotions off the bridge. Agreed?" "Yeah, and I'm really sorry about all this. I should have said somthing when I saw you." "I think you owe Dagwood an apology." Just then the ship shook again. "Let's get back, but we will talk, right?" She smiled. Tim smiled back and they had a quick hug. "Dagwood thinks everything is OK now. We are friends again." "Yep, it is, but Commander Ford won't be a friend if we don't get in there. Let's go." They rushed back in to find there had been some damage done with the bombs that had hit the ship. Ford told Piccolo and Kimura to get into the fighters. He wished he had more people to send out. "Sir, there are now six fighters with Chameleon. We could send out more." Ford turned to look at Tiffany. "We don't have any more people experienced in fighters." Lucas looked up from his computer. "Sir, I have had some training lately. I could go out." "How many hours have you had?" "Ah, 32 I think it is." "You need a 60 hour minimum to fight. There is no way you are going out there." "But sir, you need all the people you can get." Tiffany cut in. "Commander Ford. UEO regulations state that in emergency situations, the minimum can be 30 hours. Lucas does qualify for that and I believe this is considered an emergency situation. Besides I've watched him and he's picked it up real fast. Besides that, I've also had training in them. I don't much like going out in one, but I do have the training and I am qualified." Ford looked at the two of them. Tim looked up with a concerned look on his face. He did not want her to go out. She may get killed. She smiled at him and nodded. She would be very careful. "I don't really have a lot of choice in this. OK, both of you go, but I want Tiffany, Tony and Kimura to watch Lucas' back. Make sure he is covered." "Yes, sir, we're on our way. I'll let Tony and Kumura know." They left. Tim was looking at Jonathan, still with a concerned look. "I don't like it any more than you do Tim, but we need as many as we can get out there." Henderson told them Nexus was on the screen. They had been attacked by a sub, but it looked like it had disappeared now. Ford ordered Chameleon put on and told the fighters to get out there, but with Chameleon on. It looked peaceful now, yet there was something different. Usually there were mini-subs coming in and out. There was usually a lot of activity around the colony, but now there was nothing. Henderson had to look after the sonar too. "Nothing around here, sir, but the four fighters are all out there, waiting." "We'll wait too. We can be patient as well. Keep your eyes looking for other fighters and that sub that attacked us. Let me know where our own fighters are at all times. I don't want any accidents." "Aye sir." "Sir," Tim was listening for any communication. "There is a communication between the colony and another sub. It must be somewhere, just far enough away, so as not to be on our sonar." "Sir, no it's closer by. It's about a 100 feet away from our starboard now." "O'Neill, let's hear what they have to say." Tim put it on speakers. Ford did not recognize the voice he heard, but it was the same story as the renegade sub they had captured. " ... and so Macronesia is taking ove Nexus. No one will be hurt. We do not intend to hurt anyone, unless there is resistance. We have taken our stand for too many hours and we will not wait any longer. Let our fighters in." Then they saw the fighters. There was at least a dozen of them. Ford was almost wishing he hadn't sent theirs out. They were outnumbered. At least they had an advantage with Chameleon. They would not be visible unless ready to shoot. He hoped Tiffany had trained Lucas enough in the use of it in the subfighters. He did not want any casualties on his hands. The colony was not letting the fighters in. They were standing their ground. One of the fighters took a shot at one of the several towers which were stretching high up. It was demolished. Suddenly one of SeaQuest's fighters was visible and a shot came out. It hit the fighter. The other fighters turned around, but the SeaQuest one had disappeared again. A couple of them shot where the fighter had been. Who ever it was, they had the brains to move out once they were invisible again. Smart move. Ford wondered who it was. Another fighter became visible and shot but missed. Then another one. One after one they kept becoming visible, shooting and then disappearing again. The main sub didn't know what to do. They were confused. SeaQuest had them right where they wanted them. "O'Neill, open communications with the sub." "Aye sir." Tim nodded at Jonathan. "This is Commander Ford of the UEO commissioned SeaQuest. Stand down and prepare to be boarded." There was silence. Then another fighter started firing. The others started again. None of them were hits. SeaQuest's fighters kept appearing, firing, disappearing and then moving away from the spot. They had hit altogether four of the Macronesian fighters. Slowly the main sub had been backing off. It was now in a position to turn and head away. It did just that, leaving the eight remaining fighters without anyone to help them. "O'Neill, get Chameleon off and keep communications open." Tim did and they were now visible. "Henderson don't let that sub get away." Ford did not want to desert his fighters, but he did not want to let this sub get away either. "Torpedoes, ready?" Some one said "Aye, sir." Ford continued. "Fire at my commnad." The person nodded. "Commander of the renegade sub, again I say to you stand down or we will fire." The sub kept moving. It was now halfway turned around. Ford looked up at Lonnie first. "Where are our fighters?" "Further down sir. Not in the way." "OK then, fire one!" Number one got fired. "Fire two!" Number two went. "Fire three!" Number three went and with that the ship was crippled enough to stop it. Meanwhile down below, SeaQuest fighters kept doing their thing. They now had just four fighters left, when there was a sound over the speakers. "We do not wish to cause any more fighting. We will stand down." Ford smiled. At least four of them would live to see another day. He called out to his fighters. "Take Chameleon off and lead our friends into the ship to be put into the brig until further notice." The four fighters from SeaQuest became visible once more. Each took one and led him into the ship. Security was waiting for them. Tony got out of the fighter first. "Hey, you two did not too bad out there for rookies. Tiffany, where did you learn to manoeuvre like that? I lost you a couple of times." "Rookies! I was fighting this war while you guys were sleeping it out in stasis. That's how I rose up in rank. I've been in fighters a lot but my claustrophobia really gets to me in there. This time wasn't so bad, but there have been times when I've been in one of these things for hours at a time. The rest of you did a really good job." "Hey, Lucas, my man." Tony slapped Lucas on the back. "Now this is what makes you a man. Now you know what it's really like out there." "Thanks, Tony, but no thanks. I think I'll stick to my computer. I've had enough of this to last me a while." Lucas shook his head. Tiffany and Kimura smiled. Training in one and playing around were one thing, but this was real life and he wasn't too thrilled about it. Kimura had been watching and listening. "The Chaudai train you so that you don't even think about it. You have no feelings about what to do. You just do it because it's what you do." She was still having a hard time handling being away from the strict Chaudai. They had trained her well, and it was hard to undo some of the training, but she was learning. "Well, I'm glad my buddy, Lucas, here and I were not trained by them. I don't want to be a machine that someone else controls." Tiffany smiled. Each culture was different. She decided to go back to sick bay and see how her uncle was doing. The rest went back up to the bridge. Dagwood had been sent down to make sure people were put in the brig. She got to the sick bay and he still looked pale. The doctor came over to her. "He only needs rest. He'll be alright in a few days, but he needs bed rest for three or four days." "I'm alright now. I need to get back to the bridge. You don't understand. Things need to be done. I have to talk to Commander Ford. I know why the ship is deceiving us." Tiffany pushed him gently back down on the bed. "You are not going anywhere. For once you are going to do what I say. Commander Ford is doing just fine without you, maybe even better. He can handle things on the bridge." "But Tiffany, you don't understand. I know what is happening. I know what they are trying to do. Nexus ..." "Nexus is just fine. We know Unc. We know what they tried to do and it's all over now. You missed the fun." "Over, no it can't be. I haven't been down here that long." Just then Jonathan came in. He was smiling. Tiffany hadn't seen him smiling since she came on. "Yes you have sir. I'm here to report that Nexus is OK, the bad guys are in the brig, the UEO has been informed, we've had very little damage done, no casualties and your neice has been a big help to me." Captain Hudson looked from one to another. He was surprised. "Who was looking after the bridge?" "Both of us were. Jonathan was the captain and I gave some advice and we worked together. It can be done you know. Jonathan and I get along really well together. We make a good team, so you had better watch out for your job." She smiled at him and Jonathan. Jonathan was surprised. She didn't tell the captain about the argument they had. "Actually I could not have done it without Tiffany's help. She was the one who ..." "Naw, I just made a couple of suggestions. Jonathan is the one who made the final decisions. I even got to go out in a fighter again and so did Lucas." "Lucas? Oh no! He hasn't enough time in one." "Sure he did. We just invoked the UEO rule of minimum hours needed in an emergency situation. It all worked out." Captain Hudson laid back. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them. Thank you for taking over Commander." "It was my job sir. Um, Tiffany is good to work with. She's very smart about subs sir." He looked at her. "Tiffany, I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for the way I acted. You are a fine officer and it's a pleasure to work with you." They shook hands. "Why thank you Commander. It's a pleasure to work with you too. You know how to keep your sanity and stay calm in a crisis." Jonathan left to go back to the bridge. "And I owe you an apology. Unc, I'm sorry for my tantrum earlier, but you know you can't run my life, even when we are working together. I know you want what's best for me, but I have to make my own mistakes and learn myself." "I know. I've done some thinking about it and if you and Tim are serious, well, I know he's a fine officer and you won't do much better. I like him although at times I can't understand him, but I know I can't stand in your way." He smiled. "You can't understand him! Man you should see the problems I have understanding him. Anyway, it's OK now and we had a short talk about it. I'm still not sure about his feelings. He seems to be very withdrawn at times. But, I tell you what. As you are recuperating, I will tell you all about it and keep you informed of what's happening in my life. OK? And by the way, Tim and I have agreed to keep our emotions off the bridge. That is unless you get hurt again. You have no idea." She stopped. Yes he did have an idea. He was thinking about when he almost lost her. She smiled. Just then Tim came in. "Great, but for now, just let me alone so I can get some sleep. I'm awfully tired now." He closed his eyes. "You, youngsters, run along." "Youngsters! Unc!" She could see he was sleeping. She smiled. "OK, Unc, later. Come on Tim, we have some talking to do." They left him there and went to get something to eat. Then Tiffany relieved Jonathan. She felt they would get along better now, especially since it was up to her and Jonathan to keep an eye on things for now. THE END ========================================================================== Sherry Sherry Loeffler loeffler@istar.ca fanfic page: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/7534/intro.html "Give whatever it takes, even if it takes more than you got." Tony Piccolo to Lucas on By Any Other Name - SeaQuest DSV.