Nathan sat in his cabin, looking at a report on the ship's hull from Lucas. It mainly showed how well the hull was holding up against all the strain they were subjecting it to. The seaQuest had been ordered to conduct some deep water tests, and Nathtan was getting very tired of being the subject of interest in the UEO right now. His crew badly needed a vacation. 7 months underwater is a long time, he told himself. He decided he would call Admiral Noyce as soon as he was done with the report. He never had the chance.

His screen beeped, and Nathan tapped the keypad by his bed to activate it. Admiral Noyce appeared on the screen. Speak of the devil, Nathan thought, turning to face the screen. "Nathan!" the image on the screen cried. "Good news! UEO commamnd just recieved a call. There's no need to conduct these tests now. Some reason about how no ships are going to be commisioned until 2019 anyway. I talked them into that shore leave you've been asking about." Nathan's face brightened.

"I have to admit, only you could do this, Bill. Thanks. And I'm sure the whole crew will thank you, too." The image smiled.

"So, where you gonna go? How about California?"

Nathan shook his head. "Nah, I figure I'll ask the crew."

Noyce shrugged.

"Whatever you want, Nate. You've got three weeks to enjoy yourselves. See ya." The image touched its keypad, and the picture of Noyce was replaced with the UEO transmissions logo. Three weeks! That was a long time, considering how short most vacations were. Sometimes having Noyce on his side could be an advantage. The man was annoying, true, but what was life without a challenge? Well, he'd better go tell the crew the good news. Nathan got up, and exited the room. He went down the hall, and made his way to the bridge.

The bridge was a crowded place at times, but today, it was unusually still. These tests were tedious, and most of the scientific crew had nothing to do. Commander Ford looked up from the WSKR console, and came over to Nathan. "Captain, we're ready to start the next test," he reported. Bridger waved his hand.

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Ford. We've been granted shore leave. Three weeks of it, actually." Ford's face brightened.

"Then, sir, may I go to Chicago? My family is having a reunion. They'll be relieved I can come." he said. Bridger nodded.

"Of course. Have fun," he said, as Ford left the bridge. He turned to Hitchcock, who was over at the systems check console. "So, where should we go?" he asked. She didn't have time to answer, though.

"Hawaii! Let's go to Hawaii!" Lt. Krieg yelled, from the other side of the room. He began doing the hula, pretending to strum a ukelele. "Luau!" he called, as everyone stared at him. The captain laughed.

"I guess we can go, if no one else objects." he said, glancing around the room.

"I'll only go if he shuts up." O'Neill announced, pointing to Krieg. He immediately shut up, and nodded vigorously. The captain shrugged, and turned to the helm.

"Helm, take her to Hawaii." he said, and smiled as the command echoed through the stations. He sat in the command chair as Krieg walked off the bridge singing, "In the jungle, the mighty jungle..." His voice trailed off as he went down the hall. Lucas entered the bridge with a confused look on his face. Nathan smiled as Lucas came over to him.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We're going to Hawaii for our vacation. UEO command decided to give us a break." Lucas's face brightened.

"Hawaii. Girls!" he smiled and ran off the bridge, saying, "Boy, is Juliana gonna be mad when I tell her I dumped her for some great Hawaiian girl!" Nathan was now having second thoughts about Hawaii. Oh well, he thought. No use now. They were going to Hawaii, and there was nothing he could do.

* * *

This is so cool, Lucas thought as he examined the ruins he had found near the base of Oahu. Maybe this is that lab that blew up in 1998, he thought. What else could it be, except for a sub, but it didn't look like it was. No, he decided. It must be the lab. What were they working on, anyway? Cryogenics, wasn't it? Now he came to a clearing in the debris. He saw a bunch of seaweed, all clumped together, on a rock. But as he went closer, he saw this wasn't a rock. It was a case. He pulled the seaweed off.

It was a rusty gray pod, with clamps on the side. There was withing on it, but it was hard to make out. All he could see was the word "AUSTIN" printed across what seemed to be the top. Anything else was hard to see in this light. He wished he had brought his flashlight. He tried to lift it, and it was amazingly light. He decided to bring it back to the boat.

He lugged it to the boat, and, once he was dry, dragged it to medbay. Dr. Westphalen looked up from the computer display she was studying. Lucas was surprised she was here; almost everyone else was gone. Only a few people were still on board. Most had made like Krieg and headed for the girls. He would have, except he had wanted to go diving for a while first. Now he was glad he did.

"Lucas, what are you doing here? And what is that?" Dr. Westphalen asked. She motioned to the case he was dragging behind him.

"I don't know. I found it in some wreckage on the bottom. It looks really old. I have no idea what it is. I thought maybe you would know." He handed it to the doctor.

"Hmmm, let me see." She put it on one of the beds, and examined the outside. "Austin," she read. "I wonder what that means?" Lucas shrugged.

"Maybe it's from Austin, Texas." he suggested. "I don't know what else it could mean. Should we open it?" he asked. Dr. Westphalen thought a moment. Then she nodded.

"Yes, I don't see why we shouldn't." she said, and fingered the clamps. Then she grasped one, and twisted. Steam shot out. Then she twisted the other, with the same reaction. After that was over, and the steam had cleared from the room, she tested the lid. It came open with the squeak of rusty hinges. Still more steam. She fanned it away, and looked into the capsule. For a moment, Lucas couldn't see anything. Then Lucas saw a very thin, very pale young teenage girl.

She had dark brown hair, almost like Hitchcock's, but longer. It was pulled into a ponytail on top of her head. She had on a grey bodysuit with the logo for the Hawaiian Medical Program stitched into the shoulder. She was wearing a hospital bracelet that had AUSTIN printed on it.

"This is way too cool." he muttered. Dr. Westphalen looked at him. Lucas shrugged again. "I guess the Austin doesn't mean Texas." he told her.

"I've already figured that out, Lucas." Dr. Westphalen informed him. "She appears to be frozen."

"Why?"

"People in the late twentieth century used cryogenics to freeze people that had then fatal diseases, in hopes that there would be a cure in the future. Now, if we could figure out what she has, we could possibly cure her. Of course, there may not be a cure yet."

"Wouldn't she be... well... awake then? Like, alive?"

"Of course. That's the whole point of cryogenics. Although the future shock might be a little too much for her. I'll have to do some tests, though, to find out what she has, and if there is a cure. If there is, I'll have to ask Captain Bridger if I can treat her. Then - I'm not sure what I'll do then. I'm thinking maybe I'll put her in an incubator and thaw her out."

Lucas gave Dr. Westphalen a look. "An incubator?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Put lots of blankets on her and hope for the best?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of a heat lamp."

"At least you don't want me to put her in a microwave."

"Krieg would."

Dr. Westphalen laughed. "You are hopeless, Lucas. Go sit over there while I conduct my tests." Lucas did so.

* * *

"So, what's wrong with her?" Lucas asked after about fifteen minutes of Dr. Westphalen's testing on the girl. "And do we have a cure?"

"From what I've observed so far it appears that she had a fatal form of skin cancer." Dr. Westphalen informed him.

"Skin cancer's fatal?!" Lucas was shocked. "But... we can treat that. If you get to the patient to a doctor soon enough."

"Apparently there was no cure when she was dying. I'm going to need a while to work on her, though. It may take anywhere from fifteen to forty-five minutes." she said. "Now, go find something to do. Please.

Lucas nodded, then left medbay in search of any intelligent life on the boat. Which I know, he thought, won't be Krieg.

But he was too late. Lt. Krieg had already run into Lucas in the hallway, playing that ukelele of his. He was singing in made-up Hawaiian.

"Why aren't you on the island?" Lucas asked.

"I can't find any hula dancers that haven't slapped me yet." he whined. Lucas just rolled his eyes. "Is that all you can think about?"

"Well... I like this ukelele pretty much. But hula dancers are better." Lucas gave Ben a look that said, "Whatever." Then he went off to find some kind of living being that was actually sentient. The only one he could think of besides anyone busy at the moment was Darwin. He went over to the tank, and called for the dolphin. Darwin swam up to the surface.

"Hi, Darwin." Lucas said, watching the dolphin swim small circles in the pool."

"Hello Lucas." The computerized voice, which served as Darwin's, responded. "Lucas play with Darwin?" It asked. Lucas shook his head.

"No, sorry. I'm waiting for Dr. Westphalen to finish something. I don't think I could keep my mind on a game right now." He apologized. He threw a toy into the tank. "There. Amuse yourself." he told the dolphin, then set down the hand-held computer used to translate the dolphin's sounds and left the room. He could hear Darwin splashing behind his retreating back. He decided to meander around for a bit, looking bored out of his mind. Maybe someone would sympathize. He wandered around the boat for at least 30 minutes, and then headed back to medbay. Dr. Westphalen was leaning over a bed, doing something. He went over and tapped her on the back.

"How's it coming?" he asked. She smiled.

"Almost done." she informed him. Lucas nodded, and went over to the pod, which was leaning against the corner. He looked at it, as if it could tell him who this girl was, and when she was from. "But before I can thaw her out, I'll have to ask Captain Bridger. Come on." she said, motioning to her private office over to the side. "She should be fine for a minute or two." They went into her office, and Dr. Westphalen called Captain Bridger's hotel room. He had decided to get out into the sun for a few days, so he was staying at a hotel on Oauhu. I really have to find a way to get off the boat and meet some girls, Lucas thought. "I hope he's in." the Doctor said, as it rung a second time.

After the third ring, the screen jumped to life, revealing a partially wet Captain Bridger, complete with a towel around his neck. "What is it?" he asked.

"Oh, did I get you out of the shower?" Dr. Westphalen asked. He shook his head, then stopped before he short-circuted the equipment with the water he was shaking out of his hair.

"No, I just got back from the pool. What do you need?" he asked.