Title: Aftershock - based on Photon bullet episode. Season One.

Node Three Communications Installation

Melanesian Basin - depth 7000 feet

Node Three Command centre

Martin Clemens strode back and forth in front of the large screen and laughed triumphantly. Things at last were falling into place. He might finally feel some peace in his mind and heart. Perhaps he could even make amends for his past mistakes. He was so pleased that he had managed to trick the UEO into sending him Lucas Wolenczak. The kid was brilliant and within days the teen had managed to hack into the Word Bank, something Clemens had been attempting to do for years with no success. The teen had certainly seemed anxious to get away from his comrades on seaQuest. It hadn't been hard to convince the lad to come stay and play. Node three was filled with intelligent kids but none of them even came close to Lucas brilliance.

"The World Bank Transaction Network fully trapped . . . mine," he replied victoriously. The words had barely rolled off his lips when suddenly the screens on the wall went black. "What the..?" Clemens whirled around staring at the three teens behind him.
"I shut down the Node," stated Lucas flatly staring at Clemens brazenly.
"Put us back online NOW!" hissed Clemens vehemently.
"No, no, it's wrong," insisted Lucas suddenly feeling frightened of the man standing in front of him. Clemens dropped all pretense of kindness and glared at Lucas viciously. Lucas felt his mouth go dry.
"We're on the doorstep of global synchronicity," said Clemens, pointing at Lucas angrily. "You can't stop me. I will not fail. I've been here before." He irritably pushed the frightened teen out of way and sat down, pounding at computer keyboard without success.
"Yeah, you killed a man," said Lucas point-blank not fully comprehending how the words cut into Clemens.
"I made a mistake," hissed Clemens at Lucas with venom dripping in his voice.

"And you're making us do it all over again. You're affecting millions of lives, real people's lives. This isn't some game on the Internex where you see every consequence in neat 3-D graphics," blurted Lucas adamantly.

"Don't you get it, kid? I'm destroying war, corruption; I'm ripping the heart out of greed;" insisted Clemens eager to get the teenager to understand. He looked at Nick and Juliana, the other two teenagers in the room, almost pleading with them to take his side. Both teens looked away fearfully. Clemens wasn't acting rationally, and neither one of them could believe what they were hearing and seeing.
"You can't do that by changing numbers. These things won't go away until we know each other, one by one, face to face. You said it yourself Clemens, it hurts in here," said Lucas placing his hand on his heart "This is where you have to make it better."
"You're a child; you've never felt pain. I took a life;" chided Clemens in disgust. Lucas winced at the comment and shut his eyes momentarily trying to clear his head though the fear was raging within him. He felt his heart beating wildly as the moment escalated. The man had no idea the pain Lucas felt in his life. He had no idea the abandonment he felt and the hurt that gnawed away at his heart daily.
" And I'm not gonna let you take any more," insisted Lucas boldly, quickly sitting in front of another terminal in the room and continuing to shut down the computer system. Clemens watched as all the screens went blank again and eventually turned black. Clemens screamed out in anger. Fury pulsed through him, and he jumped to his feet, grabbing Lucas by his shirt and shoving him against the wall. He wrapped his hands around the teen's neck attempting to squeeze the life out of him in a fit of vengeance.

Lucas gasped when Clemens shoved him against the wall. His clear blue eyes stared at the huge black man in horror. The guy had completely lost his grip on reality. He felt the man's muscular hands wrap around his neck in rage. Lucas attempted to peel the man's hands off his neck, clawing at his throat desperately trying to get free himself. Nick and Juliana, the other two teens in the room, trembled in fear and seemed to be frozen watching in disbelief. Clemens continued tightening his grip on his neck, and Lucas was beginning to see spots as he felt himself getting light headed. Lucas' heart was beating rapidly in terror. The realization hit him that the man was going to kill him. He could feel Clemens nails digging into his flesh as the man strangled him. Lucas' thoughts went to Captain Bridger and the argument they had had before he left Seaquest. The captain. He couldn't leave things like there were. The captain had been trying to teach Lucas about taking responsibility. Lucas had wanted recognition and appreciation. He had wanted to be recognized and acknowledged. Instead he just felt like he was constantly in the way on Seaquest. His thoughts still on the captain, Lucas desperately tried in vain to claw the man's fingers off his throat. He felt himself losing consciousness as things started to go black.

Suddenly, Nick seemed to gather courage enough to pull up a video on the computer. The room was abruptly filled with gunshots and men screaming at one another. Lucas' blurry vision couldn't make sense of the scene. Clemens looked in horror at Lucas, almost like he was being awakened from nightmare. Clemens turned to look at the screen in astonishment abruptly releasing his grip on Lucas' throat. Lucas collapsed onto the floor trembling and fighting for breath. He felt his heart in his throat, and his pulse was racing. He fought to gain control of himself not knowing what Clemens would do next. Massaging his neck, Lucas slowly pushed himself to his feet using the wall for leverage. Bruises were starting to form where Clemens fingers had been. Lucas still fought for air, and he wondered if his windpipe was damaged from the pressure that had been inflicted. Clemens seemed frozen in time lost in his own horror as he watched the scene play out on the screen repeatedly. Lucas felt confused as he wasn't sure what the video was about, but it was apparent the murder depicted was personal to Clemens. It quickly dawned on him that Clemens had hacked the computer giving the order to kill the Chinese soldier.

"It only hurts because you can see his face. You knew who he was," stated Lucas, his voice raspy and hoarse. The hacked computer had recorded the event and for some reason Clemens had kept a copy of it. The scene repeating itself repulsed Lucas, and he looked away.
"No, no I learned that lesson," whispered the man weakly obviously haunted by the video and his past.
"You learned the hard way. But I don't have to, and we don't want to. I don't wanna hurt anyone," croaked Lucas still gasping for every breath glancing at Nick and Juliana. Both of his friends looked as frightened as he felt. His throat burned with each word, and he felt weak in the knees and continued to lean against the wall for support. Clemens shook his head mumbling about wanting to make the world a better place. Lucas took as deep a breath as he was dared to escape the sharp pain in his throat and shook his head feeling light headed.
"No, no," he choked. "You're not willing to accept the responsibility. You've been hiding behind machines, behind photons. It's a magic trick, it's not human." Lucas kept thinking of Captain Bridger's words from their conversation over vid-link the night before. The captain had told him that the actions of people were the only legacy that was left to the future. The way others affect each other is all that is left behind, the Captain had told him wisely. It was the only message that people had to give. It mattered. It all mattered.
"I just wanted to make it better, to help people," said the man weakly sitting in a chair while staring at the screen blankly. Nick cut the sound but allowed the video to keep playing, hoping the man wouldn't decide to retaliate again. He stared at Lucas in admiration. His friend's voice could barely be heard as he gasped for every breath before speaking again.
"You can't help someone, until you know who they are," whispered Lucas feeling exhausted yet determined to convince the man. The large man dropped his head pitifully mumbling about knowing the man in the video. Shame and defeat radiated from him and despite his fright, Lucas felt sorry for him.
"Let the network go," whispered Lucas pleadingly. Clemens looked at the boy in defeat and nodded. He began typing into the computer slowly in acquiescence mumbling words no one could hear. He leaned back against his chair fatigue showing on is face.

"So, it's done. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry," replied Clemens glancing at the kids trembling behind him. Lucas nodded at him and collapsed to the floor. He drew his knees up to his chin trembling. More than anything, he wished Captain Bridger was there. He didn't know what to do next. Hopefully the worst was over, but he didn't know for sure. Juliana and Nick rushed over helping Lucas to his feet and half carrying him out the room. Juliana locked the door behind them, her hands noticeably trembling. The three teens stood breathing heavily in shock over the events. They had no idea how to proceed.

Several hours later, Lucas sat on his bunk at Node three rubbing his sore neck. They had left Clemens locked in the Command room not knowing how to handle the situation. Nick and Juliana suggested calling the Seaquest and asking for help, but Lucas had disagreed. He didn't want Captain Bridger and the rest of the crew to know about the events on Node three and his involvement. Despite the fact that Lucas had managed to stop Clemens plans, he worried that Captain Bridger would be furious with him for not reporting what he knew right away. How did everything get so out of control? Somehow he just wanted things to go back to normal. He wanted to return to Seaquest and resume his duties and go on with life. Lucas looked up when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," he croaked, his voice still hoarse.

Juliana and Nick entered the room in silence and sat down. Both of their faces were still white from the earlier events. They were both intelligent teens but still young when all was said and done. They didn't know what to do. Node Three was the central nervous system for all the major fiber optics highways across the Pacific. Everything from telephone calls to encrypted military information was routed through there and even the entire Internex. It needed a trained adult to operate it, not a group of kids. They had to contact someone and let them know what was going on. Juliana couldn't help but gasp when she saw Lucas' face. The whites of his eyes were blood red and appeared to have broken blood vessels. Under both of his eyes were red speckled blotches from being strangled.

"Lucas, we have to tell someone. Why not the UEO?" asked 16 year old Juliana tears shimmering in her eyes, still feeling frightened. Lucas shook his head.

"No, please, Juliana, there has to be another way."

"Lucas, you might be hurt more than you know. Your eyes… " she began insistently reaching out to touch his neck gently. Lucas jerked away from her touch.

"I'm fine, Juliana," he retorted. Looking hurt, the small framed brunette dropped her hand to her side and sighed.

Nick looked at both of his friends thoughtfully. There had to be some way to make amends and not get Lucas in trouble with the UEO or the captain.

"We could ask Mycroft," Nick suggested carefully.

"What, NO!" Juliana shouted in tears. There was no way she even wanted to see that crazy lunatic again. "He's insane! He almost killed Lucas."

"Wait, Juliana, hear me out," replied Nick quickly capturing her attention. Juliana's teary eyes were wide in fear, and Lucas reached out kindly and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok, Juliana. I promise you, things are gonna be ok," reassured Lucas. Julianne blinked back tears and nodded. Both Lucas and Juliana listened as Nick explained his idea. Nick explained about letting Clemens go if he would willingly resign from Node Three and disappear. They would tell no one what happened if Clemens would just peacefully leave on his own accord. Clemens could contact the UEO himself and ask to leave. Then someone new would be assigned to Node three and take over. No one would be the wiser. No one had to know what Clemens almost did. And no one would know that Lucas broke into the World Bank. Everyone would remain oblivious.

Lucas ran his hands through his hair thoughtfully. He didn't like the idea of Clemens getting away with what he did. Who knew if he would try to concoct his scheme elsewhere? He felt his neck burning from the near strangulation. He had been really scared and doubted he would sleep for weeks after everything was all said and done. He couldn't seem to clear his head enough to have any rational thoughts. Nick's plan seemed plausible, and he was sure Clemens would agree. He'd be a fool not to.

"Yah ok, that might work. Who is gonna talk to Clemens?" asked Lucas closing his eyes wearily. He wasn't sure he had the guts to face Clements again. He was still frightened of the man and didn't trust Clemens wouldn't try to hurt him again. Nick looked at him and shrugged. Neither of them wanted to risk it.

"I think it's a stupid idea," whispered Juliana "But I don't have any other ones to offer, and I'm really scared. So umm...how about we write him a note telling him our demands and see if he will agree? We can slip it under the door. If he doesn't agree to cooperate, then Lucas, you have to call your captain ok?" pleaded Juliana with fresh tears escaping down her cheeks. Lucas hesitated and then nodded reluctantly. Nick nodded as well and the three of them started writing a note to Clemens.

Martin Clemens paced around the room anxiously. He didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't know what the kids were doing, and they had refused to speak with him since they locked the door. Clemens wished he could see Lucas. He was concerned he had injured the teenager in his rage. He silently reprimanded himself for his stupidity. He never intended to hurt anyone. He just wanted to help and now everything was ruined. A fluttering noise caught his attention by the door. He turned to see a note being shoved under the door.

"Read it, Clemens, and you better agree to our idea, or I'm calling Captain Bridger and telling him everything you did!" stated a hoarse voice heatedly. Clemens picked up the note and opened it. He quickly scanned it and shook his head.

"Ok, I agree. Lucas, are you ok?" asked Clemens with concern in his voice.

"We'll patch you through to the UEO. Ask for Admiral Noyce. Make it convincing, Clemens," responded the husky voice. Clemens heard footsteps as the boy walked away.

Lucas managed to convince O'Neill on seaQuest to get a video-link to the UEO. He devised a story about needing to leave a message for his parents hoping O'Neill would buy it, and thankfully he did. He prayed that the lieutenant wouldn't consider the request obscure enough to mention to anyone. But if he did, Lucas figured it wouldn't raise any concerns because Captain Bridger had asked him to inform his parents that he was staying on Node three.

The video-link was patched into the command room, and Lucas listened to Clemens request to speak to Admiral Noyce as planned. Lucas shook his head in astonishment as he listened to Clemens speak. The man was able to eloquently deceive the Admiral within a matter of minutes. Guilt ate away at Lucas as he listened to the dialogue. Clemens was unstable and dangerous. What was he thinking letting the guy go free? Lucas closed his eyes blinking back tears. He couldn't seem to clear his head enough to make sense of anything. His head hurt. His throat ached. His eyes burned. And he was scared. Really, really scared. Captain Bridger was going to be both infuriated with him. The thought made Lucas feel desperate. He knew if the captain discovered what happened, he would be sent away from SeaQuest permanently. SeaQuest was his home. He couldn't let that happen.

Moments later Clemens ended the link. He had convinced the Admiral to replace him with little effort. The Admiral was more than understanding that Clemens had reached his limit of "babysitting" on Node three and needed to resign. Noyce had insisted on giving Clemens a ride to Pearl Harbour on SeaQuest when it came to pick up Lucas. Clemens had reluctantly agreed trying to keep his poker face. He feared Lucas would rat him out, but he had run out of options.

"SeaQuest is picking me up when they get Lucas," stated Clemens through the door. He knew someone would be listening. And he could hear someone breathing outside the door. "Lucas?"

"Damn," muttered Nick thinking about how complicated things had become.

"NICK!" shouted Clemens pounding on the door. "Let me out, and I will fix this. I promise."

Nick sat outside the door breathing hard. His heart was racing. He hadn't felt this frightened in his life, and the situation seemed impossible. How would this work? One look at Lucas' and the crew of seaQuest would know something had happened. There was no way this was going to work without anyone finding out what really happened. Nick slowly walked down the hallway to Lucas' room.

Nick knocked on the door and entered without waiting to be invited in. He shut the door and leaned against it still feeling anxious. Nick looked at Lucas and shook his head.

"Damn Frankie, you look like crap," stated Nick shaking his head. Lucas grimaced as he attempted to clear his throat. He knew it was the truth. As time progressed, the bottom of his eyes bruised more. The whites of his eyes looked like something out a horror flick. The broken blood vessels made it appear like his eyes were bleeding.

"SeaQuest is coming to get Clemens when they get you," commented Nick sitting down feeling exhausted.

"Yah, I heard," sighed Lucas. "They'll be here tomorrow morning. Uh, I wonder if I will look any better…" Nick shook his head at Lucas.

"I doubt it, man."

"What am I going to do, Nick?" asked Lucas looking at his friend desperately.

"None of it was your fault, Lucas. None of us could have known what Mycroft had planned. I'm sure no one would blame you. Besides, you convinced him to stop. That ought to count for something." Lucas shook his head staring at his hands sadly. Nick didn't understand, and it was too complicated to explain.

"This isn't kid's stuff, Nick. The UEO is a military…"

"So? You are a kid. Juliana and I are kids and so is every other person here but the five support staff. We were just doing what we were told," retorted Nick defending them. "Besides, you can't hide your face from your captain, Lucas. It's obvious something happened, and it doesn't look like a fist fight."

"I might be able to help," stated a soft voice from the doorway. Both boys looked up with a start to see Juliana enter the room carrying a floral pouch. "You're probably not gonna like it though." Lucas looked at her curiously as she took out what looked like a skin coloured crayon. It took him a few seconds before it registered what she was thinking, and he groaned audibly.

"Yah, I'm not gonna like it," he mumbled. "But I will try anything once."

Juliana smiled and went to work trying to conceal the bruises under Lucas' eyes. She gently applied concealer and compact powder to Lucas' pale face. His skin was much paler then hers, and the colour appeared almost orange under his eyes. She added some eye shadow to lighten the orange colour. It didn't look perfect, but it was an improvement. Perhaps in the lightening and being that the crew were mostly men and tended to be less observant, no would notice.

"Juliana, that's amazing," complimented Nick in awe. Nick handed Lucas the hand mirror from Juliana pouch. Lucas took it and gazed at his reflection quietly. It looked like he had dark circles under his eyes which was a drastic improvement on the bruised and blotched skin from earlier. He nodded approvingly.

"Thanks, Juliana," he replied with a weak smile. Looking tired would be believable considering he was known for late hours and little sleep on SeaQuest. Captain Bridger would scold him but little else. "What about my eyes?" Juliana shrugged and pulled out a pair of sunglasses from her pocket.

"My dad left them here a few weeks ago when he visited. It's all I can think of Lucas, I'm sorry," she replied miserably feeling stupid even suggesting the idea. Lucas reached for the glasses shrugging his shoulders and putting them on. He looked at himself in the hand mirror and smirked slightly. He shook his head and put down the mirror.

"I look ridiculous," he moaned morosely. Juliana and Nick laughed out loud, and Lucas started laughing as well. The three teenagers continued laughing for several minutes almost gasping for breath. The laughter felt good and helped to relieve some of the uncertainties and anxiety. Maybe their plan would work after all and then Mycroft would be gone, and Lucas could go back to seaQuest without worry. Each teen had their doubts but also hoped things would work.

The next morning after Juliana had finished applying the makeup, Lucas sat on the bed reflecting on the past week. How could things go so wrong? At first he didn't even want to come to Node three and then when he did go, it had been fun. Playing video games, eating junk and hanging out with kids his own age had been wonderful. He even had a few intimate moments with Juliana. He had some wonderful memories that he wouldn't soon forget. He hoped that she felt the same. She was so beautiful and sweet. It felt nice to just be 15 years old for once and let loose. It also felt freeing to not have anyone breathing down his neck and telling him what to do all the time. Life aboard seaQuest was rigid and structured all the time. Between Captain Bridger telling him what to do and Dr Westphalen attempting to mother him half to death, he never had a moment's peace. Node three had felt like a reprieve from that. Lucas sighed. Mycroft was supposed to be a trusted adult who was helping the Node, not attempting to corrupt it. He should have reported it to the captain as soon as he suspected something wasn't quite right. Why on earth hadn't he done that? Lucas lowered his head gently onto his knees and groaned. The bags under his eyes would definitely be believable considering he had hardly slept a wink the night before. Every time he relaxed enough to sleep nightmares plagued him. In his dreams he was being strangled over and over while Mycroft stared down at him laughing. Lucas didn't think he would ever be able to sleep peacefully again.

"C'mon, Lucas," said a voice softly from the doorway. "The seaQuest shuttle will be docking soon, and Nick is going to unlock the control room," said Juliana in a trembling voice. Lucas stood up and grasped her hand gently.

"Are you ok, Juliana?" Juliana blinked back tears and nodded.

"I'm still scared…"

"You could come with us…on SeaQuest, I mean. We could take you to your parents. You really should call them or something," replied Lucas concern written on his face. Juliana shook her head and wiped away a tear that escaped down her cheek.

"I'm the oldest kid here, and they need me. The danger is gone once Mycroft leaves. I'll be okay… I have to stay here until his replacement arrives."

"We'll be a long way off by then," stated Lucas sadly. Juliana nodded and looked away. "Keep in touch ok?" Juliana nodded again and turned to look at Lucas. She ran her fingers along his jaw line and smiled sweetly.

"You're a special kind of someone, Lucas. Don't ever change ok?" She leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. Lucas embraced her affectionately. She leaned into him and seemed to melt into his hug for strength. Lucas pulled away and kissed her tenderly on the lips. The two remained close staring at each other lingering in the moment. "We better go and see if Nick is okay." Lucas nodded and grabbed his backpack shutting the door behind him.

Lucas set his bag down in the docking bay waiting for the shuttle to finishing docking. He had chosen to wear his red turtleneck shirt and blue jean jacket with a high collar to help conceal the bruises on his neck. With Juliana's makeup job, his turtleneck and the sunglasses, Lucas had some hope of getting back to his own room at SeaQuest unnoticed. He planned to take up refuge there for as long as possible until his bruises healed. He planned to be as difficult and hostile as possible to keep everyone at arm's length. He needed some time to heal so that no one noticed his injuries. Familiar voices could be heard from behind the double doors as the shuttle unloaded. Voices also came up from behind him. Lucas turned to see Nick and Juliana approach him followed by Mycroft with his own luggage. Lucas sucked in a breath involuntarily when he saw Clemens enter the hallway. He felt his knees weaken as the man approached him. Lucas unconsciously took a few steps backwards and found his back against the wall. He removed his glasses momentarily and gave Clemens a good look at his eyes. The man audibly gasped when he saw the whites of Lucas' eyes.

"Oh god, Lucas," gasped Clemens shocked at the damage he saw. Lucas quickly replaced the glasses and looked away. Just as he did, the main doors opened on the docking bay and out strolled Chief Crocker, followed by Captain Bridger and Lt Commander Ford. Lucas felt his heart in his throat. It felt so good to see the familiar faces. He felt tears of relief flood to his eyes, and he had to choke back a sob.

Clemens stepped forward taking authority of the situation with great ease. He rearranged his bag over his shoulder and approached the captain with confidence.

"Captain, I appreciate the lift. I hope it's not out of your way."

"Well, you've been more than hospitable to Lucas. And besides, that order came direct from UEO command," said Nathan smiling warmly and offering his hand to Clemens. Clemens took the captains hand and shook it with self-confidence. Clemens looked at Lucas briefly and smiled but the smile never quite reached his eyes.

"It was a pleasure, Captain. Lucas is a remarkable young man." Lucas glared at the man from behind his glasses. Clemens entered the launch, and Lucas remained frozen in place. Captain Bridger looked at Lucas and clapped him on the back.

" Things went well I assume?" questioned Nathan warmly. Lucas nodded and rearranged his bag over his shoulder.

"I learned a lot," replied Lucas quietly. Nathan nodded respecting the boy's detached response.

"I missed you, Lucas. I'm glad you are back." Lucas managed a weak smile and walked towards the launch. Just as he was to walk into the shuttle, Ford handed him an envelope with a smirk.

"Expecting sun, Lucas?" asked Ford in amusement. Lucas shrugged and turned to look at the captain.

"What's this?" Lucas glanced into the envelope to see a tidy sum of money looking at him.

"It's your salary, retroactive. C'mon, kid, let's go," replied Nathan with a smile. Lucas followed the captain and the rest of the crew onto the launch. Lucas remained quiet and lost in thought as the launch headed back to SeaQuest.