To Be or Not To Be (Part Two)
(seaQuest DSV - Bridge)
Bridger: You called?
Ford: Yes, there's been a distress call coming in.
Bridger: Why you telling me?
Ford: The UEO regulations require me to inform the ranking officer on board of any emergency situation. That would be you, sir.
Bridger: What's the source of the call?
Ford: Gedric Power Station, it's under attack, aggressor unknown.
O'Neill: The signal's getting weaker. The station's minimal defenses have been blown to hell and they're reporting numerous casualties.
Hitchcock: Maybe we should contact UEO.
Ford: How far is the nearest communications buoy?
O'Neill: Hundred kilometers, due east.
Ford: We're the only boat within a half day's sail.
Bridger: What's our proximity to the station?
O'Neill: Uh, it's on the border, the Gedric territory. Distance, forty-eight kilometers, depth, forty-nine hundred.
Bridger: Well, at these currents, we should be there in about, uh, twenty minutes.
Ford: Captain, I'm prepared to offer you command of the seaQuest at this time.
Bridger: Come again.
Ford: Would the Captain care to assume command at this time?
Bridger: I don't think you're the kind of officer who turns his back on a command decision. Are you? I'm just along for the ride, remember?
Ford: Feed spatial coordinates for the power station to navigation. Prepare for incoming change of course and speed.
Carlton: Course and speed adjusted.
Ford: Bring her around to zero nine zero, all ahead full.
Carlton: Gedric Power Station, bearing zero nine zero, one hundred kilometers, all ahead full.
(Later)
Ortiz: WSKRS are kicking back data. One typhoon class Delta 4.
O'Neill: Power station communication reporting major structural damage, life support's nominal. Survivors are gathering in the main complex.
Ortiz: Delta 4 is on the move, heading two zero seven degrees, thirty knots. She's moving away from the station.
Ford: Give me eyes, Mr. Ortiz. Helm, bring us around two zero seven, intercept course.
Carlton: Coming around, intercept course.
Helmsman: Aye, sir.
Ford: Sound battle stations.
Computer: All hands battle stations, all hands battle stations.
Crewman #1: Securing the bridge, sir.
Crewman #2: Coming through. (runs in)
Ford: Targeting profile up.
Ortiz: Target grid locked.
Ford: All ahead full.
Carlton: All ahead full.
Ford: I want this one.
Bridger: Commander, a moment please.
Ford: I'm busy.
Bridger: Now. There might be a few other things you want to consider here.
Ford: Such as?
Bridger: Such as the lives of the people in that power plant.
Ford: I'm aware of that, but if that sub gets loose it'll be free to attack somewhere else.
Bridger: If. You're talking hypothetical, I'm talking reality. This boat is a thousand foot long Swiss Army Knife. Use your options: have one of your WSKRS tag the renegade, you can deal with it later.
Ford: No, the manual said -
Bridger: Forget the manual! Use your instincts, use your guts - that's what you've got them for.
Crocker: Say, if anyone's interested, that boomer's making a turn.
Ortiz: She's moving into an attack posture.
Ford: Weapons.
Phillips: Sir.
Ford: Flood forward tubes, prepare E plasma torpedoes, sixty percent charge.
Phillips: Loading, sixty percent charge.
Ford: Helm, reverse engines one-quarter, six degrees down angle.
Carlton: Reverse, one-quarter, down six degrees.
Bridger: Eight degrees.
Ford: Six degrees.
Ortiz: Delta 4's forward tubes are flooded and opening. Preparing to fire.
(Delta 4 Pirate Submarine)
Sensor Chief: SeaQuest is coming around. Should we initiate a firing solution?
Stark: Negative. Impressive, isn't she?
Maxwell: Captain, we have the advantage. We should fire before it's too late.
Stark: Not yet. I want them to sweat a little first.
Maxwell: She'll blow us out of the water.
Stark: I don't think so.
(seaQuest DSV - Bridge)
Ford: What do you mean, not responding?
Carlton: Helm control is frozen. She won't let me take the reins.
Ford: Lieutenant Commander.
Hitchcock: On it.
Ortiz: Delta 4 is eight hundred meters and closing.
Ford: Open forward torpedo tubes.
Phillips: Can't sir. Control isn't accepting our commands.
Ford: Go to redundance.
Hitchcock: They won't engage.
Ford: Great. What else can go wrong?
Ortiz: Target ship has just fired. One electrostatic torpedo away. Homing … she's locked and headed in.
Ford: Countermeasures.
Hitchcock: Countermeasures aren't responding, sir.
Ford: Sound collision.
Computer: All hands brace for collision. All hands brace for collision.
Ford: Everybody hold tight.
Ortiz: Torpedo at one hundred meters and closing. Fifty meters. (torpedo hits)
Ford: Damage report.
Hitchcock: Port side strike. We're taking on water.
Ford: Damn it, where are my battle systems?
Hitchcock: Inoperative, sir.
Ortiz: Delta 4 is flooding tubes, preparing to fire a second strike. Your orders, Commander? (Ford hesitates)
Bridger: Commander? Flood the ballast tanks fore and aft.
Hitchcock: Sir?
Bridger: Do it! How deep is that rift?
Ortiz: Twenty, … twenty two thousand feet.
Hitchcock: (to Ford) Are you OK?
Ford: I'm fine.
Hitchcock: Are you sure?
Ford: I'm fine.
Bridger: Helmsman.
Carlton: Sir.
Bridger: Dive into Pacific Plate rift at (checks over shoulder) six zero four two.
Carlton: Aye, sir.
(Delta 4 Pirate Submarine)
Maxwell: Captain, seaQuest is heading down into a canyon.
Stark: I don't care where she goes, stay with her.
Maxwell: We should fire now.
Stark: Not yet. Maintain pursuit, get me closer.
(seaQuest DSV - Bridge)
Ortiz: Eight thousand feet and dropping.
Hitchcock: Flood systems crashing.
Bridger: Delta 4's position?
Ortiz: Still pursuing.
Bridger: Let's see how bad they want us. Take her to the bottom.
Ford: Captain, this ship wasn't designed for a crash dive.
Bridger: If you have any better ideas, I'm wide open.
Crocker: Does this mean you're captain now?
Bridger: No, no, no, Chief, just trying to save our necks.
(Delta 4 Pirate Submarine)
Maxwell: Ten thousand feet. Captain, we can't go any deeper.
Stark: Maintain pursuit.
Maxwell: We're approaching collapse depth. If we let ourselves get crushed, seaQuest wins.
(seaQuest DSV - Bridge)
Ortiz: Fifteen thousand feet. Delta 4 is breaking off, she's moving away.
Bridger: Don't let her out of our sights, we don't want her to double back on us. (to Carlton) Level her off; we can't drop any more.
Ford: Captain, we need to talk.
(Sea Deck)
Bridger: And Admiral Noyce knew about the rebel sub the whole time.
Ford: Well, the Admiral figured you'd never come back if you knew the real reason.
Bridger: You're damn right I wouldn't have. And how long have you known?
Ford: Almost two months. We tracked her from up in the Aleutians. Been making its way along the sea mount chain, raiding outposts for valuables, supplies. They never took any lives.
Bridger: Up till now. You knew we were gonna run across her, and then what? You were going to give up the command, I'd subdue her with the supership, and then bingo, I'd be back on the team, right?
Ford: I'm not in a position to judge the merits of the Admiral's plan, but he couldn't have foreseen our current situation. I recommend you take command for the duration of the mission.
Bridger: Mission! Oh, oh, now it's a mission. Let me tell you, six years ago I walked away from all this, I erased all of it. And I did it for a reason.
Ford: Your son.
Bridger: What about him?
Ford: Well, I know he was in the Navy, that he was killed in action somewhere in the North Atlantic.
Bridger: That's right. And I made a promise to my wife, and myself, that I would never have anything to do with the military again.
Ford: With all due respect, sir, I've got hundreds of people aboard this boat who wouldn't give a damn about your promise.
(Delta 4 Pirate Submarine)
Maxwell: We're only a few kilometers away. We could go back and wait for her to come back up.
Stark: Come up? She never has to come up, even in her crippled state she could stay down there for months. No, we're going to have to draw her out. There, Westridge Farming Community.
Maxwell: That's nothing but a bunch of homesteaders.
Stark: Exactly.
Maxwell: Yes, ma'am.
(seaQuest DSV - Launch Bay)
Bridger: How's she doing?
Westphalen: She's in shock. She'll be fine. OK, bed five, let's go. (leaves with woman on stretcher)
Bridger: (walks across launch bay) How's she holding up?
Ford: (coming down ladder) Hull integrity isn't great; outer pliant skin re-sealed itself as designed; we still don't have full engines. Lieutenant Hitchcock reports eleven other systems have crashed. Among them, weapons and propulsion.
Bridger: Source?
Ford: Unknown.
Bridger: Has anyone checked out the warranty on this thing? Well, we should be glad about these people anyway.
Ford: Captain, I have Lieutenant Commander Hitchcock doing a thermal trace of the power station.
Bridger: Hyper-reality Probe?
Ford: Yes, sir.
Bridger: Good.
(Ward Room)
Westphalen: As you can see from the data Lieutenant Hitchcock got back from the probe, the power station is built over a volcanic vent.
Ford: Why?
Bridger: Energy. They use the trapped heat to run their turbines.
Westphalen: Thank you.
Bridger: You're welcome.
Westphalen: According to the probe data, the venting cap, at the base of the station, is in the process of tearing.
Hitchcock: What happens if it breaks?
Westphalen: A nightmare. The poisonous gases, which are usually captured and disposed of, will spill out across the ocean floor.
Ford: How big a spread?
Westphalen: With the thermal currents in this area, it could be hundreds of miles. Every living organism, plant and animal, will be destroyed.
Bridger: Could it be fixed?
Westphalen: Given the proper equipment.
Ford: You mean military equipment.
Bridger: Who cares who's equipment it is?
Ford: Wait a second, Captain. This ship is operating under very unusual and dangerous circumstances. I'm not sure we should divert our efforts. We still have an armed rebel sub out there.
Bridger: If I read your UEO mandate correctly, this boat can not sail away from an ecological disaster if it can do something about it.
Ford: Yes, sir. (leaves)
Scientist: We're ready to proceed, Doctor Westphalen.
Westphalen: We'll need precise specifications of the venting cap assembly.
Bridger: (taps Westphalen on the shoulder) I think we need a trouble shooter.
Westphalen: A what?
Bridger: I don't think what's happening on this boat is an accident. I think we need someone to go down into the guts of the computer and dig around a bit.
Westphalen: Well, what about Lieutenant Commander Hitchcock?
Bridger: No, she's working with the repair team. I was thinking of someone from your section.
Westphalen: It's the wrong technology. Well, there is one person who might be able to help.
Bridger: Who?
(Lucas's Room)
Lucas: It's dying.
Bridger: What's dying?
Lucas: The core of the main computer has a virus. That's what's been gnawing away at the systems.
Westphalen: But if it's in the core, why isn't it affecting the whole ship?
Lucas: Oh, it will. It just started with weapons and propulsion.
Westphalen: But wouldn't diagnostics have found it in a routine check?
Bridger: No, artificial Intelligence just makes a quick pass, unless you fixed that too.
Lucas: Well as a matter of fact, I have some parts on order.
Westphalen: I still don't see how it could have been missed.
Lucas: Well, this sucker is buried so deep that the diagnostics sweep couldn't even find it. It's pretty cool, I mean, whoever planted this thing really knew what they were doing.
Bridger: Than it's not organic.
Lucas: No way. No, it's too specific.
Bridger: Is there any way we can tell how long it's been in there?
Lucas: Not until I peel back the layers of data between me and him. (screen begins to bark and flash) Whoa.
Westphalen: Whoa what?
Lucas: It's got dogs.
Westphalen: Dogs?
Lucas: Watchdogs. Sub-programs to protect the virus. If I mess with any of them, the whole ship could crash and burn. Life support, navigation, defense, the works.
O'Neill: (over loudspeaker) Captain to the bridge. Captain to the bridge.
Lucas: I think that's you.
Bridger: Just keep doing what you're doing. Hey, kid, good work. (leaves)
Westphalen: Don't get cocky. (leaves)
Lucas: (notices Darwin with fish in his mouth) Thank you, Darwin. I've already had lunch.
(Bridge)
Ford: (Bridger enters) We have a Sat-link video transmission, distress call.
Bridger: From where?
Ford: A small farming outpost.
Hitchcock: It's a pretty weak signal.
Bridger: Try it on the main screen.
Hitchcock: Yes, sir.
Raymond Brenner: (on screen) My name is Raymond Brenner. I'm the territorial governor of the Westridge Farm Community. We've been attacked, without provocation, by a renegade craft. We're in trouble; we need help. If there's any ship out there within the sound of my voice, please help us. We need help.
Ford: Why would they attack an unarmed housing community?
Bridger: They're baiting us.
Ford: But we've got to stop them, they'll slaughter those people.
Bridger: We can't do anything until we get this boat running. Don't worry, this isn't over yet.
(Bridger's Room)
Bridger: Are you familiar with the boat's mainframe?
Professor Martinson: Nathan, I am the mainframe.
Bridger: That's right. So you should be able to detect a virus that's affecting it.
Professor Martinson: No, my capacities are limited to the data fed into my memory unit.
Bridger: Oh … right.
Professor Martinson: This information upsets you?
Bridger: If you're a computer, how do you know I'm upset?
Professor Martinson: Your vocal patterns are in severe deviation from the norm. Has your family come aboard with you?
Bridger: Your data banks are a little behind, my family's dead.
Professor Martinson: I see. Is that the reason you left the service before finishing seaQuest?
Bridger: Partly. I went to this island, I thought I'd be safe. But I knew coming back here I'd have to let people in again.
Professor Martinson: And risk losing them.
Bridger: Yeah.
Professor Martinson: You must have missed your work.
Bridger: Nah, I had plenty. I missed this, I missed the ocean, I missed what it does to me. My pulse slows down, my metabolism … why am I telling you this?
Professor Martinson: Perhaps because I'm listening.
Bridger: There wasn't a day went by I didn't think about all this, I can't seem to get it out of my mind.
Professor Martinson: Why should you? It's a part of you, Nathan, the best part.
Bridger: Ya know, I'm really pleased that you've come aboard.
(Hallway)
Bridger: (as Bridger passes, Crocker laughs) You never saw a uniform before? (they both laugh as Bridger walks away)
(Delta 4 Pirate Submarine)
Maxwell: Captain, long range sonar still shows nothing, they're not coming after us.
Stark: They will.
Maxwell: I don't mean to question you, but the crew, they don't understand why you're provoking this fight. I understand, but I think you should explain it to them.
Stark: (picks up picture) This crew, as you call it, isn't the first crew to question me, but it will be the last. (drops picture on desk, cracking the glass)
(seaQuest DSV - Near Launch Bay)
Bridger: What have you found?
Lucas: Well, I'm still trying to get to the virus, but I was able to nail the time of entry.
Bridger: And?
Lucas: Judging by the layers of data between us and him, I'd say it was planted a little over a year ago. Thirteen months to be exact.
Bridger: Keep at it.
(Sea Launch)
Crewman #1: (on radio) SeaQuest, this is EVA repair team one, power station vent cap is in place and sealed.
Crewman #2: (on radio) Roger that, return to base.
(seaQuest DSV - Hallway)
Ford: (PAL buzzes, into comlink) Ford here.
Crewman: (on PAL) Commander, repair team has just returned. Venting cap is sealed and locked.
Ford: (into PAL) Good job.
O'Neill: (on loudspeaker) Commander Ford to the bridge.
(Bridge)
Ford: (enters) You wanted to see me, sir.
Bridger: I think I found it.
Ford: The virus?
Bridger: No, the saboteur.
(Ward Room)
Bridger: I went back through the boat's service logs for the past year, nothing unusual. Then I checked the personnel manifest for the same time. The seaQuest was in dock with a minimum crew at the same time too.
Ford: So?
Bridger: So, the log shows there was one senior officer in charge the whole time. (screen behind him shows bio and picture)
Ford: Stark.
Bridger: And you served under her, right?
Ford: I was her XO at Livingston Trench. She was relieved of command. NORPAC recommended psychiatric evaluation. She refused, she just disappeared. She's good.
Bridger: She should be, I taught her.
Westphalen: Oh dear.
Bridger: I sponsored her when she went up for her officer's bars.
Hitchcock: She's after you?
Bridger: No, I'm just the icing on the cake. She's after the seaQuest.
Ford: I can't believe she'd deliberately destroy her own ship.
Bridger: Well, if she can't have it, than no one else can. And if there's no seaQuest, rebels run the sea. What she didn't count on was this old tourist aboard, whose knowledge of the ship's systems predates hers. Now listen, we may be going about this the wrong way. Instead of attacking the virus head on, what if we just went around it?
Hitchcock: It might work. You probably won't have full weapons and propulsions.
Bridger: Anything is better than what we've got now.
Westphalen: (disgusted) Weapons, that's what this is really about, isn't it? (gets up to leave)
Bridger: Just a minute. (Westphalen stops and turns around with disgusted look on her face) No, it's not, Doctor, it's about saving lives.
Westphalen: I hope so.
Bridger: Now let's get to work.
Finale