To Be or Not To Be (Part 1)
"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it's an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our blood, the same exact percentage of salt that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, our sweat, and our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came." - President John F. Kennedy, at the Australian Ambassadors Dinner for the America's Cup Crews on September 14, 1962
(The near future, North Atlantic Ocean, Livingston Trench, depth 1700 feet)
Bobby MacLaine: (into radio) Jenny, they fired at me. Jenny, answer me.
Hornet #1: (on radio) Say your prayers, reef runner, there's no escape.
Bobby: (into radio) Reef runner to home plate, home plate pick up. Come on, Jenny, pick up. Pick up, Jenny.
Jenny MacLaine: (on radio) Home plate to reef runner, go ahead.
Bobby: (into radio) Jenny, it's Bobby.
Jenny: (on radio) Bob, where the hell have you been?
Bobby: (into radio) Never mind, just get ready to open up the main air lock, I'm coming in and I've got two Hornets on my tail.
Hornet #1: (on radio) Hold your fire. (they pass some things) Lock on target.
Hornet #2: (on radio) Locking.
Hornet #1: (on radio) Fire. (it misses)
Bobby: (into radio) Jenny, start closing the main air lock now.
Jenny: (on radio) You're not through yet.
Bobby: (into radio) Just close it. Just start closing it right now. (the deep sea pick-up just makes it through the closing door)
Hornet #1: (on radio) Disengage. Let's call in the big guns.
(Livingston Trench, Ocean Floor Mining Corporation)
Bobby: (entering room) Jenny, I thought those Hornets had me for sure in their crosshairs.
Jenny: You were prospecting over the territorial line again, weren't you?
Bobby: No way, well, maybe a little bit. But everybody does it. I've got some great -- I had some great magnesium samples. Where's Earl?
Jenny: With everyone else, out battening down the perimeters. There was a skirmish out by the northern marker this morning.
Bobby: What happened?
Jenny: You know better than to jackrabbit another confederation's borders. Those Hornets were just waiting for an excuse to fire on this facility. What were you thinking?
Bobby: I don't know.
Jenny: Wait, wait.
Bobby: What is it?
Jenny: It's those two that chased you in. They're on the satellite link to their home base. They're asking for military intervention. Every confederation's got attack subs lurking outside these walls.
(Later)Reporter: (on screen) Once again, information has reached Earth Cast News that warrior submarines from several economic confederations are converging on the Livingston Trench in the North Atlantic. Representatives are frantically meeting, trying to keep the situation from escalating.
Jenny: The subs are all trying to reach their upworld bases. They want the green light to fire.
Bobby: What the hell?
Jenny: What's wrong?
Bobby: These parameter readings show something down in the trench.
Jenny: There's nothing that big down there … except seaQuest.
(seaQuest Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) - Bridge)
O'Neill: Captain, NORPAC Command is trying to get through. It's breaking up, heavy traffic at the surface.
Marilyn Stark: Keep trying, Mr. O'Neill.
Tim O'Neill: Aye, sir.
Stark: Deploy WSKRS, Mr. Ortiz. Narrow cone sweep, send directly to fire control.
Miguel Ortiz: WSKRS out, feeding data now.
Matthew Phillips: Four plasma torpedoes charged and loaded.
Stark: Thank you, Mr. Phillips.
Jonathan Ford: Captain Stark, there's still no message from NORPAC Command.
Stark: How many more of these standoffs are we gonna have before someone makes a decision. Don't they understand the only clear way to secure peace is with strength? Cat and mouse games just go on forever. Come around to two nine zero and hold her steady.
Ortiz: WSKR data coming in. Five class C shooter subs.
Stark: Target status.
Ford: Captain, I remind -
Stark: Not now, Commander. Mr. Ortiz.
Ortiz: All targets, seventy-eight percent vulnerability. We're locked into attack position.
Stark: Target grid.
Ortiz: Grid's activated.
Ford: Captain, I strongly recommend we wait for clear orders from NORPAC.
Stark: Clear orders? Aren't you tired of this game? We aim at them, they aim at us, and the whole world holds its breath. Look at this boat. We have strength and the advantage. We can end this madness once and for all. We can do what we were trained to do.
O'Neill: Captain, confirmed orders are coming from NORPAC Command. Do not fire, repeat, do not fire. The other subs are receiving similar orders.
Stark: Mr. Phillips, initiate firing sequence. (Phillips pauses) Mr. Phillips.
Computer: Thermonuclear warhead arming sequence initiated, confirm authorization. (Stark turns key) Confirmed, thermonuclear launch authorized.
Ford: Captain Stark, under Article Twenty, Section Eight of NORPAC Command regulations, I'm relieving you of command.
(13 months later)
(United Earth/Oceans Organization (UEO) Training Base, Malibu, California)
Ensign: Commander Ford. (Ford exits tent)
Ford: Admiral Noyce. (salutes)
William Noyce: Commander. (salutes) How's seaQuest's refit coming?
Ford: Well, we're a few days ahead of schedule.
Noyce: Good. I'll bet you're looking forward to getting back in the water.
Ford: Yes sir. Six months is a long time to be dry, sir.
Noyce: Ah, well, the brass is under intense pressure from the political powers to find someone to captain her. Someone who is not thought of as strictly military. Someone who commands respect outside the ranks. There's only one man who meets that qualification but can still shoot if he has to, and he'll never take the job. (gives folder to Ford)
Ford: (looks in folder) Nathan Bridger. He was one of my heroes. What makes you think anything will get him back?
Noyce: I served with him for thirty years. You live Navy that long, it never gets out of your blood. Oh, I can get him here, that part doesn't worry me. It's keeping him. Events at the Livingston Trench had all of us staring down the barrel at the same time. It was terrifying. But as bad as it was, I believe you had the hardest task. Relieving a superior officer of duty is a horrible thing to do; you handled it with a great deal of courage. However, it's nothing compared to the pain I'm about to ask you to suffer. Jonathan, I need you to be prepared to appear arrogant, incompetent, even cocky; to be everything a commander shouldn't. It may be the only way we've got to persuade him he's got to assume command.
Ford: Sir.
Noyce: It's all in there. I've got to run. I know you can handle it, don't let me down Jonathan.
(Somewhere in the Caribbean)
(A group of soldiers exits a helicopter and goes up to a house. Bridger watches from a distance before sighing and then going up to the house himself.)
Nathan Bridger: (pushing his way through group assembled by door) Excuse me, pardon me, so sorry.
Ensign: Captain Bridger?
Bridger: Bridger, I think there's one on the other side of the island. Course, he gets up very early to go to work. You may have to hurry. That is a very nice outfit.
Ensign: Nathan Bridger, we come at the request of UEO Command.
Bridger: Who?
Ensign: United Earth/Oceans Organization.
Bridger: Doesn't ring a bell, but then I've been out of touch for a while.
Ensign: Captain, we've gone to great lengths to find you -
Bridger: I don't really know what you people are selling, but I'm really not interested. Now, why don't you do yourself a big favor, and get the hell off my island.
Noyce: Hello, Nathan.
Bridger: Go home, Bill.
Noyce: Nathan, will you just listen. Damn it, will you just let me explain. She's finished. She's been operational for three years. Nathan, Nathan don't pretend you don't care, I know you do.
Bridger: All right, come on. Come on, come on. All right, Darwin, m'boy, you know the routine. (Darwin splashes him) Don't make cute, I'm in no mood. Go down, one, two, three, and tag the marker, tag the marker. Go, go.
Noyce: Hand motion communication.
Bridger: Well, it's not perfect, but we understand each other. More than I can say about you and me.
Noyce: I remember it was Carol who got you interested in dolphins. I heard about what happened, I'm sorry. She was a wonderful woman.
Bridger: Yeah, I hear ya.
Noyce: You don't think the Navy's gonna let one of its most valuable human resources run off to some desert island and not keep tabs on him.
Bridger: What happened to privacy? Last time I looked, the Bill of Rights was still intact.
Noyce: Everything's changed Nathan. I've come half way around the world to tell you about it. Once the ocean became a frontier for mining, pharmaceuticals, farming, the world became a dangerous place. Undersea borders formed, nations broke into confederations to protect their territorial claims. They hammered out a treaty. The United Earth/Oceans Organization was formed to administer it.
Bridger: Administer? Sounds desperate.
Noyce: It's different out there now. Farms, colonies, families; UEO needed a way to maintain the situation. That's why NORPAC gave us the seaQuest. Not as a warship, but as a peacekeeper.
Bridger: What's the difference?
Noyce: She's being refitted to contain a large science contingent.
Bridger: What for?
Noyce: Research, deep sea exploration, the largest deep submergence research vehicle ever.
Bridger: No way, that part of my life is over.
Noyce: Don't you understand what I'm offering you? (Bridger walks away) Nathan, you can't pass this up. For God's sake, Carol is dead. Let it go.
Bridger: I won't. I gave her my word.
Noyce: I know how much losing Robert hurt you and how you blame yourself for his joining the service. I have kids. Look around you, you're totally alone. Don't you see how your research, your passion, may be used aboard a ship you poured your life into. Come see her, let me at least show you what I'm talking about.
(Pearl Harbor, Hawaii)
(UEO Headquarters - seaQuest DSV berth)
Bridger: (on launch) Don't get too full of yourself. Once this little show and tell is over, I'm out of here. (exits launch) That's not too helpful. You think these people have heard about your peacekeeping program?
Noyce: They're career Navy. They're gonna be a little touchy about having all these science techs on board, no offense. (walking down hall) Come on, Nathan, lots to see. You know, the last time you saw her, she was no more than a keel laid out in a San Francisco shipyard. (goes up stairs) Two complete decks of science labs, research facilities, everything you could ever want or need is right here.
Bridger: Who's footing the bill?
Noyce: Grants, free-lance, industry contributions, private donations.
Bridger: Government?
Noyce: Only through the UEO.
Computer: (Bridger and Noyce enter Mag-lev) Mag-lev engaged, be seated to avoid injury.
Noyce: Nathan. (Noyce sits Bridger down)
Computer: Bridge, thank you for riding Mag-lev. (Bridger and Noyce exit)
Noyce: After you. (Bridger and Noyce enter bridge)
O'Neill: Admiral on the bridge.
Noyce: As you were.
(Jamaica, North Coast - Le Chein's house)
George Le Chein: There was a time when ocean was one of boundless profits. Petroleum from the deep seas of international waters and vital minerals from the deep sea trenches. Coral from new found barrier reefs was fantastic, beautiful. You just take, ja. Well, now we have the UEO, and this is what the UEO has left me. And now they want more in the name of peace and harmony. And what does peace and harmony have to do with business? We have to do something about seaQuest.
Maxwell: There's no competing with seaQuest.
Le Chein: No, my son, mein kindern. I'm not talking about competing with the seaQuest, I'm talking about getting rid of her.
Maxwell: What?
Le Chein: Ja. The ship has lost its leader, the crew … the crew is full of dreamers, and eggheads, and wanna-bes. Not one ounce of practical knowledge in the whole group. That's a fact. And the result, she's vulnerable. Am I right Captain Stark? You have the Delta 4 submarine at your disposal, ya. Ship is as good as any ship on, above, or around the water. I want you should take out the seaQuest. What you need, what you want, I buy. And when you are finished … you will be rich. So, tell me, Captain, how do we beat the seaQuest?
Stark: I've already beat the seaQuest. What I want is to be there when she drowns.
Le Chein: That's good.
(seaQuest DSV - Bridge)
(Bridger wanders over to Ortiz's station and begins examining it closely.)
Ortiz: Can I help you?
Bridger: No, no, no, thanks. WSKRS - Wireless Sea Knowledge Retrieval Satellites. We used to call them roving periscopes. How many WSKRS are you operating out of here? We planned three - one forward and two aft.
Ortiz: That's right. Sir, this is a highly restricted area.
Manilow Crocker: This tourist bothering you Mr. Ortiz?
Ortiz: He's asking for classified information.
Bridger: Well, they really scraped the bottom of the barrel for the crew this time, didn't they?
Crocker: Yeah, from the looks of it they did a little digging below that old barrel too, huh?
Bridger: (seriously) Now what the hell's that supposed to mean, sailor?
Crocker: (seriously) I'll tell you exactly what that's supposed to mean … (happily) it means it sure is good to see you again, Cap.
Bridger: How are you? It's been about ten years.
Crocker: Oh, longer than that, it's been twelve at least. Where the hell you been? I mean the scuttlebutt had you'd gone bug-eyed, you were makin' like Tarzan on some desert island somewhere.
Bridger: I don't think I went deep enough into the jungle.
Crocker: I know what you mean.
Bridger: So now you're part of this peacekeeping group, huh?
Crocker: Oh, you know the military, Cap. You want to play the game, than you gotta join the team. Tell you the truth, I was more than just a little surprised though when I got the call.
Bridger: Call?
Crocker: Yeah, from Admiral Noyce. I was just about to turn in my discharge papers when he asked me to come back as security chief. I'm still not sure what he wants with an old war-horse like me on board with all these academy pups.
Bridger: I'm sure he just wanted the best crew he could get.
Katie Hitchcock: Giving tours now, Chief?
Crocker: Lieutenant Commander.
Hitchcock: I don't like visitors at my station.
Bridger: Your station?
Hitchcock: That's right and it's off limits. Now if you want to see some sights, why don't you try the Arizona memorial? What kind of security clearance you got anyway? (looks at Bridger's badge) Indefinite. (looks surprised)
Crocker: Uh, perhaps a few introductions might be in order here, Lieutenant, before you swallow your entire leg. Katherine Hitchcock, Chief Engineer; this is Nathan Bridger, Captain Nathan Bridger.
Bridger: How do you do.
Hitchcock: Pleasure, sir. (to Crocker) You and I are gonna have a long talk later.
Crocker: Yes, sir, I'll be looking forward to that. Cap. (leaves)
Bridger: (standing up) He's, uh, some guy, isn't he.
Hitchcock: (sitting down) Yes, sir. He's a great guy. Thank you.
Bridger: You must know this boat pretty well.
Hitchcock: Stem to stern. I'd put my knowledge up against anybody's.
Bridger: I'm sure. Hyper-Reality Probe, that wasn't in my original design.
Hitchcock: With all due respect, sir, there's probably been hundreds of changes since you left. I'd be happy to give you a tour.
Bridger: I'd like that. Perhaps when I'm finished over at the Arizona. (leaves)
Hitchcock: I guess all that talk about him going native was true. You know, you'd think the brass would've at least let us know he was coming.
Ford: Well, Noyce was afraid that any kind of show might scare him off.
Hitchcock: Wait a second, you knew he was coming on board and you didn't say anything! (Ford walks away) J…Jonathan!
(Launch Bay)
Crocker: So, uh, did you get it?
Ben Krieg: I got it.
Crocker: That's great. How much?
Krieg: Two ounces.
Crocker: Two, I thought you said four.
Krieg: Relax, two is plenty. This stuff is potent with a capital P. Oh no, no, no. There's a little business transaction to be completed first.
Crocker: (gives wad of money to Krieg) Aren't you gonna count it?
Krieg: Lyin' soldier? (hands a bottle to Crocker)
Crocker: And you're sure this is the real stuff, huh.
Krieg: In two weeks, you're gonna be combin' your hair with a rake.
Continued