Chapter Text
“Lieutenant Commander, you’re needed in the briefing room in 10 minutes.”
Jared looked up from his computer. Commander Sheppard, the boat’s CO, was standing at the entrance to his office. Jared was on duty, but even so, Sheppard didn’t usually address him by rank except on the bridge. Something big had to be going on. “Yes, Sir.”
Sheppard nodded and walked away. Jared finished up the supply order he was working on and headed to Jensen’s quarters to let him know he’d probably be late for lunch.
Jared waited for the MagLev and was ready to get on when he saw Jensen in the doorway. Jared stepped back to let him out. “What are you doing here? I was just coming to see you. I’m going—”
“To the briefing? Yeah, me too.”
“You are?” Jared struggled to keep his expression neutral. He didn’t want Jensen to know how surprised—and slightly dismayed—he was.
“Yeah, Captain Morgan told me they need my tech expertise.”
Jared couldn’t help but frown. Jensen got Captain Morgan’s personal invitation and he himself only rated Cmdr. Sheppard? Jared knew intellectually he shouldn’t be jealous of Jensen, because they had completely different roles and skill sets, but it definitely stung more than Jared wanted to admit—even to himself.
Jensen’s eyebrows knit in concern. “Jared? You okay?”
“Huh? Oh…yeah.” Jared stepped away from the MagLev to let two other crew members board it. “So, do you know what it’s about?”
“All Morgan said was that it’s a rescue mission.” Jensen checked his watch. “I’ve got to stop at the lab first. Can you go ahead and tell them to wait for me? I just have to log something for Dr. Rhodes.”
“Sure.” Jared grasped Jensen’s wrist and pulled him in for a quick kiss. “I’ll see you up there.”
Jensen grinned and lightly smacked Jared’s ass when Jared let go of his hand. “Thanks. I’ll be quick…this time.” He cocked an eyebrow and glanced pointedly at Jared’s dick.
Jared shook his head, but he was grinning too. “Get out of here. Go do something useful.”
“Is that an order?”
Jared grabbed Jensen’s shoulder, spun him around, and lightly pushed him in the direction of the lab. “You’re gonna make me late. Go.”
Jensen laughed and trotted off toward the science lab. In the hydropressure tube, Winchester lightly nosed the lexanglass next to Jensen’s head. Jensen looked over and briefly pressed one hand to the tube in a friendly greeting. He inclined his head toward the lab, meaning Winchester should follow him. Winchester swam along beside Jensen as Jensen went down the steps and out of Jared’s sight.
Jared turned back to the MagLev and waited for the next one to arrive. When the doors opened, Jared stepped inside and was about to sit down when he heard the Captain’s voice. “Hold it!”
Jared pressed the button to hold the door open so Captain Morgan could board. “Thanks, Padalecki,” said Morgan, stepping aboard and sitting down. “I think we’re going the same way.”
“I assume so, Sir,” replied Jared.
“I told Jensen he could be a couple of minutes late,” said Morgan, unprompted. “I know he’s got an experiment going for Kim that’s time-sensitive.”
Jared nodded. “Yeah, he mentioned that. He’s genuinely trying to be more compliant. He just--”
“—Is a sixteen-year-old boy,” Morgan finished for him. “I know. He has been better lately. Kim says he’s doing about 95% of what she asks on time, the first time.”
Jared smiled. “That’s a definite improvement, then.”
“And I assume I have you to thank for that,” said Morgan, looking straight into Jared’s eyes with a solemn expression. “So thank you. I appreciate your efforts. And also your discretion.”
“Thank you, Sir,” replied Jared, shrinking slightly under the intense gaze.
The MagLev doors opened, ending the conversation. Captain Morgan stepped out, leaving Jared to follow him down the corridor to the briefing room. Sheppard was already there, along with Lt. Cmdr. Smith, the Chief Engineer; Lt. Collins, the Comms officer; and Lt. Buckmaster, the Sensor Chief. Sitting in the back were tactical officer Speight and Lt. Benedict, the crew’s best launch sub pilot. Jared’s stomach clenched. A rescue operation that required this much personnel likely carried a high amount of risk as well as an extremely tight deadline. In fact, Jared wasn’t really sure what he himself brought to the table. Yes, he’d trained in undersea rescue operations at the Academy, and he was on the team that successfully rescued the French tourist sub in the Bermuda Triangle, but that was kind of a clusterfuck—hardly an endorsement of his skills.
Morgan and Sheppard conversed quietly until Jensen burst through the door. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, collapsing into the seat next to Jared. He lightly nudged Jared’s knee with his own under the table.
“Okay, we can get started,” said the Captain, moving to the front of the room. He activated the viewscreen and pulled up a map. SeaQuest’s current position was marked, and a large area in the South Pacific was circled.
“A nanotechnology firm has requested the UEO’s help in locating their missing experimental submersible. The craft was launched from a carrier sub here.” Morgan brought up a red target symbol about 300 miles southwest of Punta Arenas, Chile. “The carrier sub lost contact with the submersible and its 5-person crew about 45 minutes later.”
Morgan brought up an image of the currents in the area. “The carrier crew believes that the submersible is running on reserve power and oxygen. It’s been approximately 2 hours since they lost contact, which means that time is of the essence.”
Morgan advanced the slide. A photograph of a middle-aged man with short-cropped sand-brown hair appeared on the screen. “This is Mark Pellegrino, CEO of Pellegrino Nanotechnologies.”
Jensen’s jaw dropped. “No way,” he said, not quietly. The whole room turned to look at him. His cheeks colored slightly in embarrassment, but he elaborated. “That’s Lucifer. He’s a legendary hacker. One of the best there ever was. I’d heard he went legit, but I had no idea it was this.”
“I’m not sure I’d use the word ‘legit’,” said Morgan. “The submersible is built from an experimental nanopolymer-carbon fiber hybrid, lightweight and—get this—apparently able to bend all waves on all spectra away from itself.”
It dawned on Jared what Morgan meant just a fraction of a second before Sam said it loud. “He’s trying to create an illegal cloaking device.”
“Precisely, Commander.” Morgan advanced the slide to a photograph of Pellegrino Nanotech’s headquarters in the Florida Keys. “Both the UEO and the US Department of Justice have been very clear: this is a rescue operation only. They want Pellegrino and his crew alive to face charges on the mainland.” Morgan pulled up a photo of Pellegrino with four other men. “There are five men on the submersible. Assuming they all survive until rescued, they have approximately 34 hours of reserve oxygen left. At our current position, we should arrive at the boundary of the target area in 10 hours. That gives us 24 hours to find a submersible that may not give off any kind of visual, sonic, or electromagnetic data our sensors can pick up.”
“So, we’re looking for an invisible needle in a thousand-mile-wide haystack,” said Misha.
“Just about.” Morgan pulled up a photo of the craft sitting in dry dock. It was basically a shiny silver golf ball with portholes and an exit hatch. “Not to mention, its nature as an experimental prototype means that certain corners were cut in regards to the ops system. For instance, the navigation apparatus they’re using is an AmaraPC GameMaster 67BB.”
Jensen’s eyes widened in clear recognition. “A video game controller? Seriously?!”
“That’s what we’ve been told,” replied Morgan. “Apparently it’s wireless, and the network is not connected to the reserve power. So the first thing I need you to do is figure out how to power the thing remotely from the launch sub’s ops system.”
Jensen frowns. “I’m not sure that’s even possible.”
“Well, give it your best shot,” said Morgan with an encouraging nod. “Plus, we need you to help Lt. Buckmaster recalibrate the WSKRS to try to find some kind of sensor signature we can use. Their Chief Technology Officer has indicated that the hull may be damaged and in danger of breaching. If the hull breaches completely, the submersible will implode and all crew, including Pellegrino, will be lost. Obviously, this is an outcome we’d prefer to avoid.” Morgan paused. “However, the damaged hull may prevent the craft from suppressing all sensor data. So there’s a chance that the WSKRS will be able to perceive the submersible without modifications. But we can’t count on that. So I want you to keep one WSKRS probe completely unmodified, and then do whatever you can to modify the other two to find any usable sensor data from the craft.”
“So, you want me to be on the launch with the rescue team and here on the bridge with Briana at the same time?” Jensen asked, his voice rising at the end with anxiety. “I can’t be in two places at once.”
Morgan looked straight at Jared. “Padalecki, you’re going to be Jensen’s eyes, ears, and hands on the bridge while he’s on the launch sub. You’re going to help Lt. Buckmaster carry out whatever modifications Jensen devises.”
Jared frowns. It’s not like he’s a vampire; he didn’t acquire Jensen’s computer prowess just by sleeping with him. Yeah, they talk shop once in a while, but Jensen usually doesn’t elaborate to the point where Jared would know how to do what Jensen does.
“Jensen, you and Buckmaster will be responsible for reconfiguring the WSKRS to locate the submersible. The company has sent the specs for the submersible itself and its ops system.” Morgan frowned. “They’ve redacted what they consider ‘trade secrets,’ but their CTO has assured us that we’ll have all the information we’ll need.”
“And you believe them?” said Briana.
Morgan smirked. “Not for a second. Jensen, you have my blessing to find the information you need in any way you can.”
Jensen grinned. It wasn’t every day that Captain Morgan gave him carte blanche to hack files, and Jared knew full well just how badly Jensen craved Morgan’s approval.
Morgan went on. “Commander Smith, I want you to use the Hyper Reality Probe to assist the WSKRS crew in locating the submersible.”
“Yes, Sir,” replied Sam.
“Speight, Benedict, and Sheppard will conduct the personnel rescue from the launch sub. Collins, you’ll be responsible for keeping comms open between the launch and the bridge, and also for attempting to establish comms with the submersible.”
“Understood, Captain,” said Misha.
Morgan shut down the view screen. “You have your orders. Dismissed.”
Jared stood up and was about to say something to Jensen when Morgan walked over to them. “Jensen, you’ve got a lot of responsibility on this. I want you to go get some sleep. You’re gonna need it.”
“But Captain—”
“That’s an order,” said Captain Morgan in a tone that brooked no argument.
Jensen let out an exasperated sigh that he didn’t even attempt to hide. “Yes, sir.”
“And Padalecki, I want you to make sure he does.”
“Yes, Sir,” said Jared, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Morgan sported a similar expression.
Jared nodded toward the briefing room door. “Come on, Jensen.”
Jensen rolled his eyes slightly, but followed Jared out the door.
“I don’t need a nap,” complained Jensen when they got to the MagLev.
“Yeah, you do,” replied Jared. “Because it’s the last one you’re gonna get until this is all over.”
Jensen winced slightly. “I didn’t think of that.”
They got on the MagLev. “Your quarters or mine?” asked Jared.
“Mine.” Jensen gave the MagLev its destination. “I’ve got stuff there I’m gonna need if I’m gonna turn you into a Level 3 sensor technician in a couple of hours.”
All the blood drained from Jared’s face. He’d stopped thinking about that part. He’d taken a couple of engineering classes at the Academy, so he knew the basics of how the WSKRS worked, but he really didn’t know if he was capable of carrying out the kind of technical wizardry that the job required.
Inside Jensen’s quarters, Jared waited for Jensen to climb in bed before excusing himself to the restroom. “Okay,” Jensen mumbled, having seemingly embraced the idea of sleeping in the past couple of minutes. Jared slipped out of the room and called Morgan on his comlink.
“Captain, I’m not so sure about this,” said Jared quietly.
Morgan half-smiled. “Jared, the tech stuff really isn’t your job. Your job is to keep Jensen from figuring out just how impossible his job is.”
Jared’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean—”
“Even if we succeed at locating the submersible before the hull breaches, the odds of being able to get the entire crew out alive are extremely low,” said Morgan. “So in essence, you’re Jensen’s security blanket. As long as he’s talking directly to you, he should be okay, even if it becomes clear that the mission will fail.”
“Christ,” Jared breathed. He had no idea how futile the Captain expected their efforts to be. And it seemed like Jared’s job was to hide that from Jensen. He really wasn’t thrilled about being forced to lie to Jensen, but he understood why Morgan wanted him to.
“It’s a hell of a lot to dump on an emotionally fragile teenager,” Morgan continued. “And the last thing I want is for him to blame himself if this goes sideways. Because it’s almost guaranteed to.” Morgan’s expression softened. “It’s a lot to ask of you, also. And it’s not fair for me to exploit your relationship with Jensen this way. I do apologize for that.”
“Thank you,” said Jared. He really had no idea what to say. His head was spinning.
“After this is over, I’m giving all of you a week’s shore leave,” said Morgan. “We’ll need to dry dock at the UEO shipyard to undo all the modifications to the WSKRS and the launch sub anyway.”
Jared nodded. He was still stuck on what Morgan had said earlier.
“Look, you need the rest too,” said Morgan in a paternal tone. “I’ll see you on the bridge at 1900 hours.”
“Yes, Sir.” That was just under 8 hours from now. Jared turned off the comlink and quietly went back into Jensen’s room. He climbed into Jensen’s bunk, spooning up against him, and Jensen made a soft, contented noise and leaned back into Jared. Jared couldn’t help but smile at that.