Leviathan

"May I ask where it is we are going, at so great a speed and depth?" Niles asked, cutting off the officer's answer. He had noticed several of the young midshipmen looking directly at Kogersborg, and for a reason Niles couldn't quite understand, he stopped the officer from committing to an answer.

"You may indeed," Kogersborg said, somewhat disturbed at the abrupt change of subject. "We will subtransit the ice cap and be in Pacific waters before you sit down for the elegant meal the captain has planned for you this evening."

"The captain, she spends long periods alone?" Virginia asked.

"She has many duties that keep her away from the crew for long hours; research, mostly, but we understand what kind of stress she is under." He finally looked up at the two Event people. "All this death of what she, and we, love ... well, she has placed this all upon her shoulders, and we are only too--"

"Lieutenant Kogersborg, First Officer Samuels has the conn. You are relieved."

They turned to see a freshly showered and shaved Samuels as he stepped up to the navigation console.

"Aye, I have been properly relieved. Commander Samuels has the conn," Kogersborg called to his chief of the boat, and then turned and bowed to Virginia and Niles. "It was nice sharing time with you, and I hope I answered all your questions. Good afternoon."

"Seems like a bright young man," Niles said as James Samuels took over the conn.

"Yes, he is one of our brightest." He looked at Niles. "His parents were missionaries in Somalia; they disappeared there after the UN troop pullout in nineteen ninety-three. The captain and Dr. Trevor discovered him as we have many of our midshipmen: destitute and alone. The young man was feeding himself on dried rice in the streets of Mogadishu when we found him while on a humanitarian mission to that country."

"It seems Captain Heirthall, and indeed the entire crew, is quite accomplished in acts of humanitarianism," Niles said, again watching closely for the officer's reaction.

Samuels glanced up from his course calculations and looked at Niles.

"Doctor, our captain wears many hats. She can be the most humane person in the world, but her wrath can be multiplied many fold if she is angered. Captain Heirthall did not want to take the course of action she has taken, but she has been angered most recently by the loss of sea life in the Mediterranean, and her family has been betrayed countless times in the past two hundred years."

"Two hundred years? May I ask--"

"Doctors, if you will excuse me, our watch change is very complicated and time consuming, and we are a bit behind schedule. I must apologize. May we take this up at dinner?"

"You said loss of life in the Med. You mean human life, of course?" Virginia asked.

The commander became silent for a brief moment. "Again, may we take this up at a later time, please?" he said, instead of answering her question.

"Yes, of course," Niles said as he took Virginia by the arm.

As they stepped from the control center into the companionway, Niles looked at Virginia.

"Something is eating at that man; I can't figure him at all. And what in the hell is with those creepy midshipmen? Nice and charming one minute--"

"Niles, I have to tell you something, I should have told you immediately after lunch when I saw who we were dealing with. I was hoping I was wrong, but ..." Virginia whispered, looking pale and nervous.

"What is it?"

"It's Heirthall. I was--"

"Well, well, we were just looking for you two. I knew these bastards wouldn't let us into the weapons room--free rein of the boat, my ass," Lee said as he and Alice stepped through hatchway and into the companionway.

Virginia looked from Niles to Alice, then smiled. It was a weak smile and lacked sincerity, and then she turned back to Compton, shook her head, and mouthed, Later.

Samuels observed the watch change from the navigation console through the holographic image of Leviathan. The second command watch took their seats after the older crewmen exchanged watch changes, course adjustments, and joked with one another. The midshipmen, instead of their usual teenage talk, smiles, and warnings of training material ahead for them during shift change, nodded at one another and then quietly took up station next to their older trainers. He saw Yeoman Alvera look his way and smile--the same smile he had seen a thousand times before, only this time she held the humorless smile a bit longer, and he had to admit it to himself, he didn't like it at all.

Commander Samuels reached under the console, brought the phone to his ear, and punched in the captain's cabin number to report the change of watch.

"Yes," a male voice answered.

"Dr. Trevor, is something wrong? Where is the captain?"

"She's lying down. I've had to medicate her--her headache became much worse in the past hour, and I was just about to leave. Shall I wake her anyway, Commander?"

"Negative, Doctor. Thank you."

"Then I shall see you at the function this evening?"