The comlink beeped once; A confirmation that the transmission had gone through without being monitored by the communications system, or O�Neill�s watchful eyes.

          Ensign Jeffries sat at a metal desk, a small personal view screen inches from the edge, and peered at the unshaven face of a thirty-seven year old man wearing hand-me-down military fatigues from the Gulf War back in 1991. The man in return stared back with cold, hard features. His face was boxy, harboring a slim, straight nose, round brown eyes, and a scruffy beard that looked like a light brown version of Sean Connery�s. Jeffries could sense the aura of forced respect creep into his being from the mere sight of the man.

          Colonel Eric Corvain was responsible for the coordination and cooperation of the few pirate factions claiming the mid-central Pacific waters as their own territory like a street gang in South Central L.A--a powerful street gang. He had been appointed the leader of this faction five years ago after a challenge had been made to the previous man in charge. Corvain had come out of the knife fight with a nasty slice down his right cheek, which he wore now as a battle scar, but his opponent, however, hadn�t been quite so lucky. Corvain had done quickly to slice the man a new navel, therefore proving his worth to take over as Prime leader for the faction known as �Winter�s Raid.� It was the most basic of primitive male rituals: Only the strong survive.

          �I assume the mission has been conducted as planned?� Corvain said through a cool tenor voice.

          Jeffries nodded once. �Aye, sir. The SeaQuest is due to arrive at the rendezvous point within the next four days.�

          �And the chip?�

          �Implanted as per your orders, sir. The SeaQuest won�t know what hit her,� he answered with a show of pride at his accomplishment. Not only had he been able to infiltrate the UEO three weeks ago, and gain access to her flagship�s inner systems, but Lt. Hitchcock had chosen him as one of her team to figure out the malfunction in the VRN system. It gave him the perfect opportunity he needed. �The system schematics will be yours within the hour, sir, and I can assure you they are completed.�

          �They�ve already tested it?�

          �Yes, and it worked, but there was an accident with the woman testing it, sir. She was knocked unconscious. We�ve been looking for the reason why and so far all we can come up with is a bad connection to the neural interface.�

          �Do they really know the cause?� Corvain asked in a sly manner.

          �No sir,� Jeffries grinned despite himself. �They still blame it on the power surge.� Sabotage was a sweat game. Much like vengeance, it tasted better cold.

          Corvain reached up to stroke the rough scar on his cheek pensively. �Captain Bridger once taught back at the Academy that to gain the cheese, you must outsmart the mousetrap. And to catch the mouse, you must build a better mouse trap.� His lips curled into a sneer as a look of deliberate malice crossed his face and the secret transmission ended.

* * * *

Three days later...

          �Now, Lucas, I want you to concentrate,� Dr. Levin calmly instructed the boy sitting cross-legged on a meditation mat on the floor of his quarters. �Find the energy that belongs to Samantha, and isolate it as best you can.�

          Lucas sighed, nodded, and closed his eyes.

          He�d come to Dr. Levin at the request of Dr. Westphalen as a way to become more in touch with Samantha, and to even remove her if possible. He was hoping more for the later. As much as he was sure none of this paranormal mumbo-jumbo actually existed, let alone worked, trying everything to get her out of his head entitled just that--trying everything.

          Dr. Levin watched Lucas with intent brown eyes. A white pillar candle stood on a twisted wrot iron stand between them meant to evoke the wandering spirit and call it into harmony, and the room was lit by the help of numerous other scattered candles, along with a burning incense stick and calming music set to a soft level.

          He had also noticed the slight glint the candle light created from a small silvery object dangling by a silver chain around Lucas� neck, and recognized it as the dolphin ring that Samantha had worn everyday since he had known her--which was when she had begun to call the SeaQuest her home. By wearing her necklace, Lucas was showing to Levin that he was willing to cooperate with the second essence harbored with him in the protection of his body.

          When presented with this unusual case about Lucas and Sam, he�d been intrigued from the beginning. Besides being a member of Westphalen�s science staff, he had his hobbies in the paranormal: ghosts, psychics, UFO�s, myths and legends, and general things that mystify modern science. He was their resident paranormal guru. He�d viewed Lucas� predicament as being nothing short of an enigma that he was more than happy to try and solve, and it gave the thirty year old man something else to do besides monitor the progress of one of the sponges in Lab 2.

          Lucas sighed, shifting on his pad. �Are you sure that stuff is suppose to work?� he gestured at the ornamentation around the room. Samantha�s image sat next to him. �I mean, what�s the deal with that?�

          �The �deal,� is that the candles and incense help to calm you. It�s believed in some cultures that if a soul cannot travel to the afterlife, it seeks out the person closest to them--whether in friendship, family, auric similarity, or even vicinity--and remains with them until they can either be reincarnated, or escorted to the afterlife. It�s rare, but not unheard of.�

          Lucas answered hesitantly, glancing quickly to Samantha. �Ok.�

          *Rare, as in impossible-rare, or what? Why him?* Though she was speaking to Dr. Levin, Lucas only relayed one question.

          �Why me?�

          �Why not?� Dr. Levin shrugged. �It could be anything from age, to similarities, to just being at the right place at the right time.�

          Lucas harrumphed. �If I click my heals together three times will she go home?�

          Samantha chuckled.

          It brought a smirk from Dr. Levin. �The ritual may help her leave your body, Lucas. Now, close your eyes and concentrate.�

          *I hope he knows what he�s doing,* Samantha�s image watched and she took a preparatory breath through Lucas.

          Lucas closed his eyes and did as he was told, trying hard to push back the sense of embarrassment and skepticism. He was more a scientist than a dreamer.

          Seeing the young man�s face turn from concentrated to near peaceful, Dr. Levin spoke softly and slowly. �Once you�ve found her energy, focus it into one point at your chest, starting from your feet and hands, working through your arms, legs, back, up your neck, and finally to your eyes.�

          Lucas swallowed as he felt Samantha stir in his mind. He grabbed all the pieces that were a part of her, and felt the tingle intensify sharply. It was like nothing he�d ever felt. Thousands of pins were pricking his skin simultaneously and he flinched. He had to do something with it soon. Quickly he opened his eyes, swayed back and forth, then lurched forward as if his soul had convulsed, pushing Samantha out of his body.

          The beat of his heart faded as she was shoved, ripped from Lucas until she was facing him from the outside--really from the outside and not his hallucination. She smiled, grateful for the new sense of freedom, but she was transparent. She looked over herself curiously, then up to Dr. Levin and Lucas, who were both staring at her. �It worked. It really worked.�

          Lucas reveled in the silence and space of being himself again, but something else was tugging at him as well; something bordering on incompleteness. �How�d you do that?�

          �You did it,� Dr. Levin answered in between writing in his journal he kept for paranormal phenomenon. �You only needed to be shown the way. Not many people have the ability to retain another soul and not immediately reject them.�

          �So why didn�t he?� Samantha asked, putting a hand on her hip and gesturing to Lucas with the other.

          �He didn�t know how until now. That and the fact that both of you were unconscious could account for it. Believe it or not, what you�ve done is a gift, Lucas.�

          �A gift?� Lucas looked from Samantha to Dr. Levin, and back to Samantha again. He wasn�t so sure he wanted a gift that would just let another person�s spirit share his body, and it made him uneasy to think about what would happen if the word ever got out that he could do this. �So get her back to her own body already.�

          Dr. Levin flipped through one of his many books that lined numerous shelves along his walls, and paused at the middle of it. �I can�t.�

          Lucas stared at him. �No. No, no, I�m not accepting that as an answer. There has to be a way.�

          �There is, but I�m not the one to help,� Levin resigned, closing the book.

          �Then who is?� Lucas� tone was low.

          �Someone with a broader knowledge of the human soul--a psychic maybe.� Levin set the book down and looked up. �I can tell you what I do know. Most cultures believe it requires eye contact for transfer, and you have to willingly push her in order for her to return. Also she has to be willing to go. Most cases I�ve read about never get that far, or require a second party to assist so the soul in question doesn�t become lost.�

          �That�s it?� Samantha and Lucas said in unison.

          �Apparently. Don�t be fooled. It�s not as easy as it sounds. If it were, these documented cases would have alternate endings.�

          �Alright, so how come I feel strange?� she asked. She felt light headed. �Dr. Levin, what�s going on?�

          Lucas and Levin both saw that Samantha was beginning to fade and she was becoming more and more translucent. �What�s happening to her?� Lucas� voice held more worry than he meant to emit.

          Levin�s voice wasn�t as comforting. �She�s fading. Crossing over.�

          �What?� Lucas exclaimed, jerking sharply toward Levin. �Do something!�

          Samantha�s eyes widening with fear.

          He turned to the shock stricken teenager. �Take her back, Lucas,� he said simply.

          Lucas took a double take. �Are you nuts? Why can�t she...�

          �Her body isn�t repaired yet and she�ll move on if her energy can not be contained,� Dr. Levin answered smoothly. �Take her back.�

          Lucas hesitated, grasping each moment of freedom and peace that he could. His eyes darted from Samantha�s ghost to Levin, and back again.

          �You�re the only one who can. She�s going to die, Lucas,� Levin�s voice started to harbor the hints of command.

          Samantha saw the world around her begin to blur. Shapes became fuzzy, and the air started to shimmer slightly in a sparkle she could see, like just before blacking out. Fear began rising from the pit of her stomach. She felt a tingle rush through her that continued to gain in strength. �Lucas...� she choked.

          �It�s the only way.�

          Lucas bit his lip before standing and reaching out to touch her. �I�m going to regret this.� He knew what he was doing, and he would have turned tail and run if he could, but that was before the accident had happened. That was before he was forced to know her. And now he knew he�d never hated her, and that he actually didn�t mind having her around.

          Samantha�s small, iridescent hand passed through his and their eyes locked, green to blue. It took no more than a second, but in that time, she felt herself being pulled though Lucas� eyes, through his arms and legs like a shock of electricity, until she slammed violently to the back of his mind. She felt him buckle as he tried to push her out again, and was afraid he would, until she sensed something different. He was holding on to her.

          Lucas gasped, shuddering the inhaled breath, lurched forward, wavered, then fell to the floor half conscious.

          Dr. Levin quickly knelt by Lucas, checking his breathing, then his pulse and finding it quicken, then level out. �Levin to med bay. Medical emergency in my quarters.�

* * * *

          �Sir, we�re approaching the rendezvous point,� Commander Ford announced, dark hands clasped behind his back.

          Bridger stood beside Ford on the bridge of the SeaQuest, mentally preparing himself in case a physical battle was necessary. �Good. Activate targeting grids and ready torpedo tubes 2 and 4.�

          �Activating targeting grids. Tubes 2 and 4 ready, Captain.�

          �Give me eyes, Mr. Ortiz,� Ford ordered.

          �Aye, sir,� Miguel complied, bringing up Junior�s visual data on the front view screen. �Sir, I�m detecting three ships in the vicinity. All warrior class. Their tubes are open and flooded.�

          Bridger nodded. That was the correct number that Noyce�s intelligence had given him, and they were all right on time. �Hail them.� He waited half a second, for he knew that�s all the time Tim O�Neill would need to open a comm. channel. �This is Captain Nathan Bridger of the UEO vessel, SeaQuest. Stand down or we will be forced to open fire.�

          �I�m getting no response, sir,� Tim�s fingers rested on the ear piece of his headset.

          �Their weapons are still hot.�

          �Commander, target their propulsion, but don�t fire. Not yet.�

          �Aye, sir.�

          �Doctor to the Captain,� the comm. system sounded to an urgent, yet calm British voice.

          �This isn�t the best time to be calling, doctor.�

          �If I knew what was going on, I�d probably agree. I thought you might like to know that Lucas is down here and he�s been asking for you--rather insistently.�

          In the background, Bridger could make out the sounds of a scuffle, trays hitting the floor, people hollering, and someone yelling to be released. It sounded like Lucas. �If you get a chance, come down here before he hurts himself,� Someone in the background dropped a tin of utensils and hollered, �or one of the staff.�

          Bridger silently cursed his misfortune. �I�ll be there when I can, just do your best, doctor.�

          �He won�t like it,� she said, then signed off.

* * * *

          Jeffries stuffed his duffel bag into the cargo compartment of the sea launch MR-7. So security wouldn�t prod him about being down here the day before, he�d given them the excuse that someone had complained about the navigational system malfunctioning, and he was taking a look at it. It had gone over smoother than marshmallow cream on a waxed linoleum floor.

          Strapping himself into the pilot�s seat, he waited until the clock struck one p.m.. One minute from now.

* * * *

          Lucas fought the grips of Westphalen�s medical staff as they struggled to hold him down on the med bed. �Let me go! I have to talk to the captain! Kristin, it�s important! You gotta find Captain Bridger! You gotta find him!" Lucas foot lashed out, nailing an officer in the chin to snap his head back at the force. The dazed officer immedatly recovered and restrained the leg that struck him. {�Get off me!�} he shouted in Gaelic

          �Hold him down!� Kristin hastily loaded a syringe with morphine and jammed it in Lucas� right leg.

          Lucas flinched as the needle pierced his skin. It wasn�t long before his movements slowed, becoming sluggish as he unwillingly gave in to the power of the drug injected in his blood.

          Samantha saw Lucas� vision blur and surrendered. Her image slumped down beside the bed and leaned heavily against it.

          After they�d woken up, she�d taken control and fought the medics in Levin�s quarters, insisting that she needed to get to the captain, but they wouldn�t allow her to leave. She and Lucas had had a brief battle where she�d won, then made a break for it. The medics had to forcefully hold Lucas back and drag him to sick bay, where the whole charade began again. She had overreacted, she knew that, but it was a crisis to her. As far as she knew--with no other body, and her own close to irreparable--she was trapped, and it frightened her. *Lucas, I�m sorry. I didn�t know what I was thinking.*

          �I do. You panicked!� he said as he looked at where he saw her lying on the end of the bed, regaining control and taking a few deep breaths. �Don�t do it again, or I�m going to loose whatever�s left of my mind.�

          *I promise,* she said. The morphine was starting to take effect now.

          Kristin had just taken a breath of relief when the ship bucked to the side, throwing her of balance. �What the blazes?� Another shot struck the ship harder this time, causing the lights to flicker. �That was a depth charge,� she muttered in shock. �Everyone stay calm! Grab hold of something!�

          �Kristin?� Lucas lolled his head to the left . �I�m sorry. Samantha, she...�

          �It�s alright, Lucas, it�s alright,� Kristin clung to the med bed Lucas lay on. She gripped his left hand in comfort for both of them. �Stay right here and don�t move.�

          �I don�t think that�ll be a problem,� Lucas answered groggily.

          Kristin patted his hand and hurried off to the rest of her staff. As Chief Medical officer, she was versed in the emergency procedure for an attack, and luckily for her, everyone else had read that part of the homework assignment as well, but it was still up to her to make sure everyone knew what they were doing.

          Lucas gripped the sides of the bed as another shot racked through the SeaQuest in a blast loud enough to make his ears ring.

* * * *

          �Captain, I�m intercepting a message from the surface ship,� O�Neill reported, then relayed the message, reading the computer�s quick decipher. �Clearance is a go. The mouse took the cheese.�

          �It�s a trap.� A hard lump of coal settled in the bottom of Bridger�s stomach. There indeed was a leak. And he�d made his objective known.

          �Counter measures!� Bridger ordered. �Fire tubes 5 and 9!�

          �Firing 5 and 9, sir.� Two pulses sounded. �The counter measures intercepted two torpedoes from the port sub, but the other two are moving into an attack position.� Miguel steadied himself by his work station as another depth charge struck close to the Starboard side. One of his WSKR screens went dead. He cursed.

          �Commander, evasive maneuvers. Close that hatch,� he ordered. Commander Ford took control of a navigation chair while the hatch to Darwin�s pool sealed off the rest of the sea water from spilling over onto the deck. �Sound �general quarters.�� A two toned alarm went off through out the entire ship. The crewmen immediately headed it and hurried as fast as they could to their quarters and stations.

          Miguel watched yet another WSKR wink out, then another until all that was left was a view screen of snow. �Four WSKR links are down, sir,� he said. He didn�t bother hiding the anger that fired through his voice.

          �They�re trying to blind us,� Bridger realized. He knew full well that the WSKRs were extensions of their own on board sensors, but it was still a low blow.

          �Two direct hits on the port sub, captain. It�s breaking away,� Miguel�s voice held a sigh of relief, light enough to be noticed as just a breath. For a moment. �Sir, the two remaining subs are closing in. They�re firing simultaneously,� he announced quickly.

          �Brace for impact!� Bridger ordered. A moment later, four torpedoes slammed into the port and starboard sides of the SeaQuest. The ship quaked like an earth tremor and knocked everyone off balance.

          �Sir, there�s been a security breech in shuttle bay 3,� O�Neill relayed.

          �Who was it?�

          �Unknown, sir.�

          The leak. �Target the shuttle�s propulsion and fire,� his voice was sharp as a blade as a wave of anger swept through him. His boat had been compromised. A part of him wanted the torpedo to destroy the shuttle, to kill the man through decompression faster than he could blink, but it would be a too quick death for someone who had made the security questionable on the UEO�s flagship. His ship.

          The screen flashed to a view of the shuttle just as a torpedo sped through the water and slammed into the backside of the small craft. It lurched to the side, sputtered, then drifted dead in the water.

          �Sir,� O�Neill called out from his station, �the two subs are reconvening.�

          �Commander, evasive maneuvers,� Bridger ordered. �Come about four-one-four. Get them off our sides and send a torpedo spread. Tubes 2 and 4 aft, and 5 and 7 stern.�

          �Aye sir,� Commander Ford answered without question. The four torpedoes sped through the water like bullets, only with homing beacons. The two enemy subs veered off just as the SeaQuest sent the barrage, and only three made an impact. Simultaneously, they pulled through the water, aiming their blunt, dark noses away from the SeaQuest. They way they moved was like someone had placed them together on a game of battleship--the deadly brothers.

          �Direct hits on three torpedoes. They�re breaking off, sir,� O�Neill allowed a sense of relief to seep into his voice.

          In the depths of the SeaQuest, within a mass of collected wires and motherboards, resting snugly in the dark recess of the access panel to the VR system of the computer core, the lone chip blinked green once--twice--three times. Then shifted to red.

          The SeaQuest heaved, shuddering from the inside out as a shock wave swept through the ship with the force of Thor�s hammer. The damage wasn�t so much in explosive as it was in ionic. Panel after panel of lights winked out from the massive overload, some exploding, knocking back the crew members manning them and sending sparks and shards of equipment spewing outward in a reckless course. The SeaQuest went black.

          Lucas sat up, his head spinning from the morphine and his equilibrium off balance. The blast nearly threw him out of the bed, and the shock of the sudden darkness sent a chill up his spine.

          Samantha�s image did fall out of bed and she felt like she wanted to throw up, then realized it was him.

          Bridger knew that was no impact from a depth charge or torpedo. Emergency power came online, bathing the bridge in a dull red glow and the stations lit up with dim yellow lights that further made the room feel like a refugee station. Nathan Bridger regained his footing and stood, one hand on the dark navigation sphere. �Is everyone alright?�

          He got scattered forms of a confirmation from around the bridge.

          �Navigation is on minimal power only, sir, and we�ve lost weapons,� Ford reported.

          Katherine Hitchcock pulled herself back into her seat where she�d been thrown to the ground. �The system overloaded. My screen is dead, sir.�

          This was more a nightmare turned reality rather than reality. Those two warrior subs had managed to disable the UEO�s best, and they�d done it with near impossible synchronization and nearly no delay time. And he was sure they weren�t about to stop now that the prey had been wounded. Angry as he was, his first priority was to the ship and her crew. �Take her down, commander.�

          �Depth, sir?�

          �As far as you can go.� He decision was resolute. The trench they hovered over was more than 30,000 feet deep, but he had confidence that the SeaQuest could handle it. She�d been tested to 20,000, and he�d press his luck if he had to. It was the only card he had left to play.

          �Aye, sir. Flooding all ballasts.� Sweat laced his hands as commander Ford gripped the helm�s controls and coaxed as much as he could out of the navigation system until she died.

          Like a shadowy leviathan, the SeaQuest sank past the subs, past the trench wall, and into the heart of the ocean floor.

Part Two