Waiting and Watching

Nathan has a revelation. And the boat is ordered on a mission. I don't claim any rights to the characters within, I'm only playing.


The obvious thing to do was just go to Lucas and ask him who wrote the note. So why didn’t he do it? It would be admitting the paper wasn’t work related and he knew Lucas would be curious. And that was as good as telling the lad the truth. Lucas was a genius and it wouldn’t take him long to make the connection Nathan wasn’t even ready to admit to.

No, the solution was to be logical about this. There were a limited number of women aboard seaQuest and he just had to observe them and see if he could figure this puzzle out. Nathan knew he could eliminate Kristin as she wasn’t on the bridge that often and, while she seemed interested in him, the secret note thing just didn’t seem her style.

A knock at his door startled him. “Yes?”

Lieutenant Tim O’Neill opened the door and leaned in. “Captain, a priority code message from Admiral Noyce just came through,” he said. “We’re being ordered to the Caribbean.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Nathan said. “Any details?”

“No sir, I’ve just come off duty and told the commander I’d pass on the message.”

“All right, dismissed.”

O’Neill nodded and left, shutting the door behind him. Nathan sighed and reached for the intercom. “Commander Ford, could you patch me through to Admiral Noyce please?”

“Yes sir,” Ford replied.

While he waited, Nathan’s mind turned back to his personal puzzle. Hitchcock was almost always on the bridge when he was but he doubted she’d do anything as stupid as fall in love with a superior officer, let alone admit to it. No, Hitchcock was military to the core and cared more for her career than personal life. That left Susan and a couple of science crew he didn’t even know.

“Captain, we have the admiral on a secure channel.”

“Pipe it down, Commander.” Nathan turned towards the screen as his old friend appeared. Their conversations of late had been strained ever since Bill tricked him back into service. But Nathan knew friendship would win out in the end.

“Hello Nathan, what did they tell you?”

“Just that you want us in the Caribbean,” Nathan replied, sitting at his desk. “What’s up?”

“Pirates of some sort have been looting the resorts and smaller communities both above and below,” Noyce said. “We don’t really have anything for you to go on other than a trail of attacks.”

*Just what I need, another mystery* Nathan thought. *There’s got to be more to it than that, Bill,” he said aloud. “We’re the flagship of the UEO but we’re primarily research.”

Noyce sighed. “Nate, I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve done that enough,” he said. “I want the reputation and presence there more than anything. The seaQuest is the best known boat we have. Your suspicious mind is just a bonus.”

“Oh, thanks,” Nathan replied. “I’ll see what we can do, Bill, but without more info I don’t know that I can promise you much.”

“I know you, Nate, you’ll figure this out. I have faith in you.” The screen went black.

“I only wish I had that faith in myself,” Nathan muttered as he stared at the blank screen.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The following morning Nathan called his officers and Lucas together for a meeting. Commanders Ford and Hitchcock, Lieutenants Ortiz, O’Neill, and Krieg, the doctor, a superstitious security chief and a sixteen-year-old genius all gathered in the ward room. “We’re going on a pirate hunt,” said Nathan by way of introduction. “Someone’s decided to resurrect the old tradition of looting and we’ve been ordered to stop them.” He was pleased to note that everyone but Crocker took the news in stride, and he hadn’t really expected much less from his old friend.

“What information do we have, Captain?” Ford asked, leaning forward.

“Not much, which is where you come in, Lucas,” Nathan replied. “I want you to hit the computers. Do a little of what you do best and see what you can come up with.”

“Right,” Lucas said.

Nathan smiled. He could already see plans forming in Lucas’ mind. “As for the rest of us, Mr. Ortiz I want the WSKRS scanning as far out as they can and the communications networks monitored at all times Mr. O’Neill. Commander Hitchcock, I want you to work with Lieutenant Krieg to arrange for some shore leave for some of the crew. These pirates are working the dry as well as in the water.”

“What about me, Cap’n?” Crocker asked.

“Well, chief, you get to research pirate history,” Nathan said. “It’s just possible that these people are history buffs as well.”

“Aye, Cap.” Crocker smiled.

Nathan dismissed them and went to follow when he saw the note on the table. He picked it up and saw his name on it. With a sigh he sat back down and opened it.

****I hope you don’t mind me calling you Nathan. This is the first time I’ve done anything like this and don’t exactly know the protocols. You’re probably trying to figure out who I am. Well I’m bridge crew, military with brown hair and a pale complexion. I love reading and learning new things. I’m not so concerned about my career that I won’t admit to my feelings for you. If you would like to write back, give the note to Darwin. He’ll find me.****

Nathan was flummoxed. Maybe he’d misread Hitchcock but she’d been at the head of the table with Ford and hadn’t dropped anything on her way out. Kristin used his first name and wasn’t military. *Oh dear Lord, it’s not a woman.*

Part of Nathan wanted to jump up and run screaming from the room. The more rational part of him to him to think things through very seriously. This officer was putting more than his feelings on the line and if Nathan stepped the wrong way he’d ruin another life. After a great deal of soul searching he finally decided to write back and see if he could get some more clues to who this mystery admirer was. He just had to be careful not to lead them into a place they couldn’t get out of.