She ran around a corner, vicious laughing all around her. She just ran, tearing away
from the ropes which kept binding her body, trying to slow her down. She turned another corner,
running head log into a gray wall. Then the ropes overcame her, forcing her helplessly to the
cold floor.
Then as if suddenly recognizing her defeat the block pulled back into the wall revealing
not another corridor, but space. A starfury sat idly in it. One of their stafuries. She couldn't tell
who was in it, hell, she couldn't even tell if anyone was in it.. As an Earth Force Destroyer made
it's way through the jumpgate she prayed otherwise.
In a blinding flash of light the fury was destroyed, and as the brightness flew away she
had another picture in front of her. A dark room, a single light focused in the center of it, shining
onto a lowered head. Brown, near black hair hung limply around a scarred face, and a monotone
voice droned through a list of irrelevant questions. Her friend refused to speak, and remained
quiet as possible as a whip cracked painfully across his bare back.
She sat up in bed, screaming, calling out his name, "Marcus!"
The morning passed uneventfully for her, for her crew, well they knew to watch out when
the Commander was cranky, but this.... She was screaming at a Gaim transport when the
Captain walked in. "You are supposed to dock on the other side of the station. Now get in line
before we blow you out of the sky!"
"As if you would. It will take us over half an hour to move into that position, it would be
easier for us to simply dock here," the Gaim captain replied.
"Like hell. Arm forward...." she was cut off abruptly by the captain.
"Commander in my office now!" he ordered.
"Yes sir," she was cranky beyond any human endurance, but followed him willingly,
preparing herself for the lecture which was bound to occur. It never did.
"Susan sit down," his voice went from stern to compassionate. As she sat down he
continued, "Susan your acting like a bat out of hell. I mean sure you get cranky," she rolled her
eyes, "we all do. But this, God, your wound up to tight. What's wrong?"
Keeping a stonelike expression on her face she replied, "Nightmares."
"Unprepared for..." this time he was cut off by his link. Tapping it he answered,
"Sheridan, go."
It was Corwin on the other end, "Emergency situation. Starfury Delta Six has not returned.
Receiving urgent transmission. Want me to patch it through?"
"Yes Lieutenant," that was the extra 'fury. The one reserved for Ranger use, and
intelligence missions.
Her heart raced as she listened to the static filled transmission. "This is Ranger
Marcus Cole to any Resistance vessel within range. I am under attack, I repeat I am under attack
by an Earth Force Destroyer. Requesting immediate assistance. Please.." it suddenly ended.
"Alpha Squadron. Scramble. Immediate reconnaissance mission," she checked the
transmission log, "Sector 80 by 14 by 91!"
Her heart was beating faster than it ever had before as she tore out of the office not
waiting for his dismissal. She had known, but how? This wasn't a time to worry about that, she
had a mission to lead. Now just to wait for the signal.
Corwin's voice came through loud and clear less than a minute later, "Alpha Squadron,
launch."
The thirty two and a half minutes that it took them to reach their destination felt more
like thirty two and a half days to her. She was worried, and her heart jumped as she passed through
the jumpgate. Wreckage, nothing was left but wreckage. Well that and an Earth Force ship. Just
her luck, it was the Argus. She had had her dealings with them before while protecting the
smugglers.
"This is Starfury Squadron to the Argus, please respond," she hit the com button.
The reply was immediate, "This is the Argus." The voice was female, and though it
sounded hostile it was far from uncivil.
"This wreckage is from one of our starfuries, can you explain?" she started to scan the
wreckage for a body. Then unconsciously she started to scan the wreckage for a mind.
"We detected an explosion, and came here immediately. It was already gone when we
arrived," she lied.
"I am neither reading a body, nor a lifepod, or rather wreckage of. Did you pick up one
of our people?" something hit her. She could hear him.
"No we didn't. I am sorry I can not help you," the line went dead.
//--// "No!" he fought against the guards who were holding him in place. "Liar," he
hissed at the woman now sitting in the command chair.
"Shut up," she yelled back, rolling her eyes in disgust. //--//
Susan looked at the Argus, as if somehow seeing it might bring the images back. As if
second nature she reached out with her mind, scraping and clawing at every unfamiliar
consciousness. Then the images returned.
//--// Everyone started to screech. Their hands shooting up and covering their ears, their
faces contorting into painful messes. As the man holding him back crumpled to the ground, a
single thought filled his mind. Escape.
He ran, as far as he could. Searching, knowing how to escape. The Minbari had
taught him well, and he maneuvered through the hoards of wailing people easily. In no time he
was in the middle of the shuttle bay. He knew how to program the computer to launch the tiny the
tiny craft as soon as he turned on the power. That he knew not from his Ranger training, but
from before, from his days working as a shuttle pilot for the mining company. //--//
As he escaped she let loose her hold on their minds and hailed "Shuttle identify yourself."
"Susan, this is Marcus. Let's get the hell out of here, now," his British voice was full
of fatigue, and he was coughing.
As they made their way to the jumpgate the Argus fired. She watched in dismay as on
of her men died in a brilliant explosion. "This is Alpha leader. Evasive maneuvers, protect the
shuttle."
As the jumpgate opened up to them, another starfury exploded.. Then they were headed
home.
She sat idly in her quarters, well not really idly, she was thinking. And thinking hard.
What had really happened out there? She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but somewhere
deep inside her mind, she knew. She had saved him, that much was obvious, but how? As far
as she knew it was impossible. Sure she was a telepath, but she was only a latent. She never
had displayed, or sensed anything above and beyond that. What she had done today was
impossible, maybe it was just a coincidence that he escaped when he did. She dismissed it as
that, but in her mind she knew the truth.
Standing up she smoothed a few wrinkles out of her uniform with her hands. She had
five minutes before the debriefing. Just long enough to think up a plausible explanation for what
had happened.
"Stephen I swear it, something happened," Marcus protested as the doctor attended to
the lacerations on his back.
"I'm sure Marcus," Franklin muttered in reply as he ran the instrument in his hand over
one of the longer marks.
"Somebody, or something helped me. There is no other explanation for what I saw," he
continued. "Everyone was screaming, as if something had invaded their minds."
"I don't know what to say except that you've been in an extremely traumatic situation.
It may have just been a delusion. Now you're done. Apologize to Sheridan for me about you
being late. I was in surgery when you arrived."
Marcus stood off of the bed in the examination room, moving his arms, and back as if
taking stock of his condition. Slipping into the fresh shirt they had left for him he turned and left.
He still couldn't figure out exactly what had happened.
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